Castle Upon This Hill
by International Uzumaki
Summary: Deep within the human world there is a castle, a castle that is the home for the most bazaar squad the soul society has ever seen. These were the outliers, these were the members of squad 101. For better of for worse, this is their story. And the story of their king. Based off of Tekking101 Zanpaktou contest.
1. The Contest Does not Equal the Apocalyps

**Chapter 1! The Contest Does not Equal the Apocalypse!**

In a far off land, deep within the world of the living, there was a castle. And this castle was built for one purpose, and one purpose only, to house the division of the King, squad 101.

He stood there, lanky and with his black suit blowing in the wind, proudly looking down and the people gathered below from his view at the castles balcony. "Hello everybody!" he said calmly "I want to discuss something very interesting with you guys for a second." He paused "The apocalypse!" he went on about the world ending and the symbolism, something about a trumpet and demons? Who really knows, most people there weren't very religious and were getting annoyed by the delay, they had waited long enough already. "Now I know what you're thinking, why the hell am I discussing the apocalypse when the title of the invitation clearly indicated something else." He gestured to the outside of the letter he had picked up "Or maybe it's on the inside, I don't know they change their format so many times." He put the letter down and picked up a large blue book "Well, the reason I'm opening like this is because all that stuff I just mentioned, the four horsemen ridding in, bring death to the entire country side, demons rising out of the ground! That's stuff that normally would never happen. So when that stuff does happen, people are like, oh dame, end of the world." Some of the people in the crowd murmured at that, they had seen some pretty weird stuff, demons and guys on horses were the least of their problem. "And, the thing that I'm about to tell you guys, right now, if I just came out and said it, you would probably also assume that was something you would never hear in a million years, and you might, uh, believe the world was coming to an end. So that's why I had to open this gathering like this. Just to let you guys know that what I'm about to say does not signify the end of days." He paused, looking around. "K, you good? Just giving you a second to prepare there." There was a moment of silence again. It was a thing with the king, random pauses and run on sentences, a writer's nightmare. He took a deep breath, centering himself and adjusting the book in his hand before screaming at the top of his lungs, "I'VE FINISHED THE CONTEST!"

The crowd screamed, some in terror, some in delight, and some hysterics. Many thought the world was ending, they had been waiting for so long, so long to see if they would gain what they desired most in the world.

Even the king screamed, slamming his book down onto the stone floor his was standing on. "YES! YES! FUCK YES! WE RE GETTING DRUNK TONIGHT!" there were sighs just under were he stood saying that if you were underage you can't drink, clearly someone had thought ahead.

"My God." He said, calming down. "That is not a simplification, because I have been working this for," he stopped himself to check his watch. "a little bit over four months now." He went on thanking the people for their patience and all that bull. "If I had a nickel for every time the contest was brought up in a message, I would own a castle. In fact, that's why I now own this castle, because I got a nickel for every time I was asked about it." The crowd murmured. It was a very nice castle, very spacious.

"But enough of this crap! Finally, I shall announce the winners right here. First things first though!" he quickly read off short list of names, that somehow included a panda, who had helped him through the four grueling months. It was these selected at random people, and a panda, who were responsible for choosing the 20 winners. The people who would be getting a spot in the Kings division. Squad 101. "Now, you all have really cool Zanpaktou, and multiple ones have Bankai. So, obviously we're not a regular division. We are the only division based in the human world, of course humans cannot enter because of the barriers but that's besides that point. We are the gifted squad. All of us here are very strong, but we do not fit within the walls of the Seireitei. We are the people who cannot or will not conform to their hierarchy. Of course we still in service but our structure is lacks. I am your captain but I'm not really going to be ordering you around too much, or at all really." He clapped his hands together and picked up the book he had thrown down earlier "Let's begin shall we?" He pulled up a chair and motioned for everyone to sit down, this might take a while.

He started off at the bottom "the 20th seat of the great squad 101 is, Naruto Ino with her Zanpaktou, the Niji no Kami or Rainbow god." There was a scream in the crowned as a girl with long blond hair jumped up and danced. "Congratulations Naruto, please make your way to your right side for your prize and proof of seat badge. 19th seat is Amulet Cloveress, and her Zanpaktou White Fox. Uh, there is a way of pronouncing it in Japanese but I can only make out Shiro." Everyone's head turned to find the girl who had just been called. She stood near the back, trying to make her way over to the side where the chosen were supposed to meet. Her sword was dangling at her hip, but the blade was made of glass, making it hard to tell if it was really there or not. Not many were really looking at her sword anyways, her uniform was rather tight fitting. "18th seat! Soul R. PS the third! Their Zanpaktou called Evil Justice and I can't read the Kanji." He paused, looking up from his book to see Soul trying to make their way to the other winners "Both Soul and Amulet have mist like abilities. So you two are friends! I'm not bossing you around, but I'm your captain, so you know, play nice. Or maybe you can be rivals, how about that?" Amulet looked down at Soul, they were very short and Amulet was very tell, giving them a quick look over before turning her head to pay attention to the captain.

"I don't think he should be telling them about our power." Amulet commented under her breath. It seemed like something they should have to figure out for themselves.

"It's not like anyone here's going to betray us," Soul replayed, not facing the girl. "We're all going to be in the squad, we're just the lucky ones who get seats."

"Yeah well I wish I could get a seat, my feat hurt." Naruto complained loudly.

"Shhh!" Amulet scolded.

"17th seat is Tenchi Cokai, and the Zanpaktou Undō-ryoku or Kinetic force. Now Tenchi, don't try and stop any meteors while you're here, I'm looking at your file and that won't work." Tenchi looked disappointed but went to grab his prize anyway "16th seat is Jim Smite! Zanpaktou is Tetsu Ōji no Hidari or The Left of the Iron Prince. That is an awesome name." He went on talking about something but no one was really paying attention because on his way to the side, Jim had managed to trip and land face first on top of some poor girl's large chest. He was really shy and awkward about it to, trying to apologies and continue on only to fall again away from her and into the dirt. "He also has Bank- Ok I need to take this off its extraordinarily hot up here." He struggled to take off he jacket and a couple of people whistled for the hell of it. Nearly everyone had missed Jim even had a Bankai.

"Uh, sorry." He muttered as he tripped over his own feat and toppled into Naruto.

"Nah dude, it's cool." She smiled.

"15th seat" King went in "Mercury Venus! Zanpaktou is Moeru Oni or Burning Demon." He paused, reading through his book "Umm, is the blade is smoking, run, run as far and fast as you can. Oh, uh, big weakness, not going to share it. You, uh, might want to get that checked out there Mercury. That seems like it's going to cause you some problems in the future, both Shikai and Bankai. The Bankai is called Honō yarinage or Flame Javelin. Which again, is a freaking awesome name."

"Guess us boys have to stick together!" Mercury yelled as he grabbed Jim and Tenchi over on the side. Wile he was short, he wasn't as short as Jim, though Soul was still the shortest, so he didn't have to reach like he did with Tenchi, who towered over them all.

"Uh, what about Soul?" Jim said, trying to get out from Mercury's grasp.

"I'm not sure Soul is a male, but if even if, I don't want to get to close with a Zanpaktou with that kind of name." Tenchi said, simply lifting the arm off his shoulder.

"Hey, what about my Zanpaktou?" Mercury cried.

"God, you're annoying." Tenchi muttered before getting elbowed on the side by Naruto who had suddenly gotten really close and wanted them to shut up.

"14th is Daphne Herring." The King continued "Her Shikai is called Shi Kokyū or Breathing Death. It is a wind type Zanpaktou." A very beautiful, tall, Latino girl stood up to make her way over to the winners. Many of the on lookers were shocked, such a beautiful lady with such a dark sword name. Daphne went over to Jim and gave him a nice nod, she was the one he had tripped on when trying to get over to the side. Suddenly the King stood up and went behind the curtain, only to return a moment later with a giant bottle of 7up in hand "By the way," he took a swig of the drink "official drink right here." He put his drink down and continued on with the announcement, only to realize he had spilled some on the name "uh, 13th seat." He tried to rub the liquid off only to smear the ink "names Tom, uh, Pouter"

"That's not my name!" A tall skinny guy with shoulder length yelled.

"To bad! It is now!" Tek yelled back before returning to the book. "His Zanpaktou is Naite Akuma or Crying Devil." He clicked his tongue a couple times "Hey, Tom, are you the super gory guy who's was sent here because squad 11 didn't want you?"

"Yep!"

"Glade to have you! Work on your stamina!" He took another swig of soda "Uh, where were we? Ah! Seat 12, Mu Brigs. Zanpaktou is Kaminari Himei or Lightning Scream. Just a warning, we have a lot of lighting people. Do with that information as you may. Ok, hey Mu!" he looked up from the book to see the medium sized girl trying to get past the rows of bodies "Find a medic and stick with them!" She gave a quick wave and trying to hop her way to the side. Only her movements were stiff which was odd since she clearly had muscle. "Oh cool, your Bankai makes you a knight." He flipped to the next page "Our 11th seat is the squads' medic. XV Shadow and her Zanpaktou Mizu Otome or water maiden. So X, go find Mu. Alright, the 10th seat, Mr. DB and his Zanpaktou, Piasushīrudo or Piercing Shield. Another knight and you to are not allowed to go after meteors."

When Mr. DB and XV managed to get over to the side, DB grabbed Tenchi's arm and pulled him down to his height, both the 10th and 11th seats were tall in their own rights, but Tenchi. "Wana do it anyways?" DB whispered.

"Hell yeah." He smiled back. XV just shook her head, her long brown hair swooshing in the air. She did not want to clean up that mess but knowing she eventually would.

"9th seat" The king continued "Is, uh, God dame it I can't read your name," he squinted and held the book up to his face. "Detracost Bleacher. That's your name now!" it was so wrong but Det didn't even try correcting it as they got up to join the others. "Zanpaktou is Kyōki no Saundo or Sound of Insanity." Some of the winners turned to face the new comer, a sound based ability was rare, and difficult to deal with. "It's another disorientation effect so go hang out with the mists and rainbow over there." He read through the weaknesses "Oh, and find the Medic!" he laughed and looked down at his book again "Looks like you have a Bankai, very morbid and festive. How nice." He smiled. "8th seat is Raven Kisomaru with her Zanpaktou Ankoku or Darkness!" A girl stood up with two swords strapped to her hip, another rarity. "Has a Bankai." He paused and looked up at the girl's bright purple hair carrying an umbrella "your kind of like a vampire aren't you?" She just shrugged and joined the others.

Daphne came over to great her, "Mind if I join you?" she asked, referring to the shade. Raven looked at the tan girl before moving her umbrella over to cover them both.

"Ok, 7th seat, Sky Crown. Zanpaktou is Sybankai lateninia. I am pronouncing that wrong but whatever. This one specializes in hand to hand combat so do try and not get into any fights or go assassins creed power." he laughed. A kid with eyes bright blue eyes and shaggy brown hair in a ponytail popped up from the crowd and sprinted to the side. "Alright, 6th seat, we're almost done! This one goes to Wan Nola with his Zanpaktou Jereseo! It's a kido type blade and goes off of emotion so don't piss this one off. Be Zen Wan, be Zen"

"Will do King!" Wan yelled as he made his way over to the side to join the growing army. He was the only one even close to Tenchi's height but still fell short.

"5th seat!" he yelled as he took another swig of his drink "Enzi Anma with their Zanpaktou Reisu Kaminari or Thunder Wraith." A person stood up and tried to get through the crowed, what most noticed about them though, was the lack of a sword, and the long pink hair that made some think the boy was in fact a girl. Though they would be wrong. "4th seat is, uh 4th seat is," he paused to take a sip of soda only to make a face before swallowing "4th seat is Rensa Forsuto and his Zanpaktou Fanshi Shicucu. Butchered that terribly. It's another kido type so the first guy won't be alone. And he has a Bankai so that's cool." He took a breath a stretched. A Native American male stood up and nudged his way to the side. "Alright everyone top three! If you didn't make t don't worry because everyone here is now a member of the elite 101 squad so give yourself a round of applause. But if you made it this far them you should be really thankful because I probably lost a lot of sleep over you."

Everyone clapped but the seated members sounded the most genuine. "Who do you think it'll be?" Wan asked.

"I don't know, but they have to be something if they beat me out." Rensa laughed, adjusting his sleeve. The it was one of those kinds that aren't actually attached to the rest of the outfit but instead warn like armbands, similar to how Raven's uniform was cut, but instead of drop crotch pants he had no back to his uniform.

"Third seat! Of squad 101! Is Neo Blade the Eighth and their Zanpaktou Inazuma Senkō or Lightning Flash. Now keep in mind there are to third seats so Neo, you will have a partner." Neo went over to get his prize and waiting for his partner. A lot of the crowd stared at his as he went because instead of a standard black shihakushō, his top was white. Completely missing the first layer of the uniform. He was also one of the taller ones, just under Wan in height. "The other third seat Laugh Panda. And yes, that is their real name." he quickly added. The crowd quickly spotted the oddly named third seat trying to jump over some guys' head only to hit him with one of his two swords at her waist.

"Sorry." She mumbled, her brown eyes sparkling in the sunlight, partially hidden by her long brown hair. She was fairly short compared to her partner but in the medium height range with the rest of her squad. So that was the animal who had helped pick out the winners, odd that they would be so high up in positions. "Her Zanpaktou is called Tsuki no namida or Tears of the Moon and they do have a Bankai and its duel swords. Squad 101 does not conform to the rules! You could have 8 swords!" he paused to think about it "Well, maybe not because that might be a little difficult to use but whatever. Anyways, they are a water type and the other third seat is a lightning type. I did that for a reason. Because technically speaking, you could combine your power and kick ass."

The two third seats quickly got together and linked arms "Destruction?" Neo asked. His blue eyes looking down at her.

"Destruction." Laugh answered.

"Ok! So here we go! I'm almost done! I'm one entry away from finishing this four month long contest! I want to thank everybody, I want to thank the academy for doing this, I want to thank the person who I decided, to be my lieutenant. It took me three weeks to decide this!" he took another sip of the 7up. "The lieutenant," and another sip, "of squad 101" and another "second in command" and another "is" and another.

"Get on with it already!" someone yelled.

"Atticus Rez and their Zanpaktou Raito Kurai or Light and Dark!" the King said happily.

There was a scream from the crowd as a girl jumped up, dragging a black hair male with her and hugging him "You did it!" she yelled before shoving the male to the side.

"Sorry." He muttered since he was pushed in to Enzi "Sister."

"And they have a Bankai!" He yelled. Closing his book, he stood up and spread his arm out. "That is it! Thank you all so much for being so patient and I welcome you into your new home! Those who made a seated position, please join he in the throne room. Everyone else, please make your way to the dining hall to get your sleeping arrangements." He turned, grabbed his soda, and walked behind the black curtain. There was some commotion among the crowd before they started towards the castle.

"Wow," Det breathed out as he walked into the castle and taking off his grey headphones "This is amazing." The entrance hall alone was big enough to fit the entire Kuchiki estate with in it. The walls and floor were made up of tightly put together stones and the ceiling was so high up it was impossible to see the detail in the design, though there appeared to be some. Straight ahead was a large staircase with a sigh at the bottom that had an arrow on it saying go up the stairs and to the right to get to the throne room and to the left to the dining hall.

"Come on, we need to hurry." Sky said, trying to push Det out of his way and up the stairs.

"Race you to the top!" Enzi yelled as he ran past the two and headed for the stairs. His long pink hair almost getting caught in some wall decorations.

"You're on!" he laughed back, pushing past Det to get in front of the forming crowd. Det just shrugged and ran after them, or tried to. His movement was rather stiff. The three followed the sighs each trying to best the other in speed while trying not to crash at the sharp turns the castle provided. When they finally did reach the throne room they stopped and took a breath. The room was stunning, but in an oddly plane way. The stone that was used to make up the walls and floor was a lighter color and there were windows on each side, making the room appear to be like a floating bridge in the center of the castle. Enzi and Sky walked over to the windows and looked down to see a lush garden below and a random black horse drinking from the fountain.

Slowly, Enzi reached up and gave a sharp tug of Sky's short pony tail. "Ow!" he yelled, rubbing his head and glaring at Enzi who just smiled in return. "Fine, be that way." He mumbled and let down his thin brown hair so it would hang just above his shoulders. Det just rolled his eyes and went over to the long white table that took up the majority of the space in the room. There were 18 tall seats and one bench, each with a hole near the top forming a number. At the opposite end of the table from where he was standing was a small set of stairs hat lead to a tall white throne that had three bars sticking out of the top, one in the middle and one on each side.

Eventually everyone made their way to the room, which took a while because most didn't feel like running, and took their seat. The two third seats sitting in the large bench. "This is nice." Rensa commented, "kind of plain but nice."

"Yeah but I could do without all those photos behind the epic chair up there." Mr. DB said from further down the table as he pulled out a flask.

"Where did get that?" Tom asked "Can I have some?"

"No, mine." He said, pulling the alcohol close to his chest. Instead, Rensa pulled out some strange drink in a decretive bottle from his fanny pack.

Slowly Tom reached for it. That sized bottle shouldn't have fit in that small pouch. "Should I ask what this is?"

"No."

Suddenly the door to the left of the throne open and the King walked in and sat down. "Welcome everyone, I asked you to come in here today, one because I wanted to show off this awesome throne room, and two because I though you deserved to know a little bit about your captain. Now technically I don't have my Zanpaktou with me at the moment, my dark self stole it. More on that later."

Soul raised their hand "Uh, King?" they asked in an unsure voice.

"Please, call me Mat."

"Do you mean there's a dark version of yourself just wandering around the human world with untold power?"

"It's not untold, I'm explaining it to you now."

"That's not the point king." Amulet cut in. "You mean to tell us that's there two of you?"

"No, there's six."

"Ah man." Atticus wined "My job just got a hell of a lot harder."

Jim leaned forward "So, are they here? In the castle?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes, well, some of them, but back to the point. Actually, you might need to know this if you ever run into him, oh by the way, if you ever meat my dark self, run. But uh, once you know what I can do, it'll make more sense why I picked Atticus as my lieutenant. Now, I'm deliberately leaving a bunch of stuff out, but that's for your own good." Mat pushed a button and a large transparent blue screen rose up from the table, spanning from one end to the other. On it appeared a really crappy drawing of a bunny dressed in a suit and tie with a sword in its hand. "My Shikai command is eclipse and my swords name is black sun or Kuroi Taiyō. So, basically it has the ability to control light and darkness, which is kind of what Atticus's does, but it works a little bit differently. Its abilities lay in spheres." The picture of the bunny zoomed in on just the sword, which was turned upside down. Along the blades edge, spheres of "now I can use it as a regular sword to but I can use the spheres to. To summon the spheres I would call Kuroi Taiyō Alpha. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and so on. Kuroi Taiyō Alpha summons one sphere at the tip of the blade, and I can use these in different ways. I can merge it with the sword for an energy bust, I can stab the ground and release an earth quake. I can swing and send the sphere off so it can explode. I can summon more than one sphere at a time, but I have a limit of five." The rabbit drawing acted out each action "And the same thing with the dark side of it, but instead of controlling light, or ire, or heat, it controls gravity and I would say Mávros Alpha." The rabbit moved to the left of the screen and a chart was pulled up "The ratio of power is if I'm at 100% reishi, each light sphere would take up 3%. If I'm using a black sphere it would take up 9%. I have a chart of energy that I can use, if I have 80% or more of my spirit energy, I'm stable. 60-80 is mildly exhausted, 40-60 severely exhausted, 20-40 I'm unconscious, anything below is very bad. Like coma or death bad." The chart moved away and the buddy laid down pretending to be dead. Slowly the screen was lowered.

"Is that it?" Mercury asked "Is that all you're going to tell us."

"Oh, and I have a Bankai." He added.

"No shit Sherlock. You're the fucking captain." He leaned back in chair and yawned "So are we done here 'cause I am fucking hungry."

"Yeah, you can leave." He said nonchalantly and got up to leave himself. "Oh, one more thing. The sleeping arrangements. Every three seats are together up until the 12th seat, then 11-3 are put in pairs and Atticus, you're on your own."

"It's a castle. And you're making us share bedrooms." Wan complained, slouching down to the point where he was practically laying on the table.

"Yes but you should see the others." He laughed "Four to a room and only two community bathroom on each floor." The group of 20 mumbled before pushing off from their seats and following the small of food. The dining hall was fairly big and still pretty busy, but near the center was a long empty table with plates and a letter with a number on each spot.

They all quickly got in line to get their food and settle down at the table. Tom looked over at XV "Umm, X?"

"Mh." She answered as she took a drink of water.

"Why do you have 7 glasses of water?"

"Oh," she looked down "Well uh, my ability is based around water."

"And?"

"Where do you think that water comes from."

"Oh." Tom looked down at his own food "That kind of sucks." He picked at his pasta on his plate. "Hey, has anyone opened the letter yet?"

"Raven has." Daphne said, as she ripped a piece Bolillo. "It's the key to our room and a map of the castle." Tom looked over at Raven who was busy taking a sip of some red drink. One by one the group finished eating and headed up to their room. They ended up on one of the top floors, Naruto Amulet and Soul went into the room closest to the door. Tenchi, Jim, and Mercury went into another. Daphne, Tom and Mu went into their own room, however they immediately kicked Tom out and pulled XV in. Tom was left with Mr. DB.

They were about to close the door when Mu ran out and grabbed Raven and dragged her in as well. "We expect the bed as well." She said only to look over her shoulder and into the room to see there was 2 extra beds. "Never mind. Hey Laugh, you wana join us?"

"Nay, I'm good. I got a curtain." She said and closed her door.

"Suit yourself." Mu said and closed her door as well.

Det shrugged and went over to Sky's and Wan's door, who had already gone in, and asked if he could sleep in their room since he preferred being around people at all times. Enzi and Rensa walked Atticus to the end of the hall before saying goodbye and turning in for the night.

Atticus sighed and closed the door. On one of the bed was his giant suitcase, he sighed again and shoving it onto the floor before pushing the second bed next to the other and getting into it. Today had been a good day. Tomorrow seemed like it would be a little bit harder.


	2. Tea and Waffles and Names

**Chapter 2! Tea and Waffles and Names.**

Atticus was right, the next day was harder. When he rolled out of his double bed he accidently landed on his suitcase and hurt his knee. "Son of the Soul King! Ow! That hurt!" he laid there rolling around on the ground for a good three minutes before finally getting up and going to his privet bathroom to get ready for the day.

"Hey, Atticus!" Wan yelled as he ran past him, his red eyes flashing in the morning light, messy brown hair flying behind you.

"Hey! No yelling in the bed hall!" Daphne yelled as she exited her room, fixing her black gloves.

"Oh, hey Daphne." Atticus smiled as they fell in step with each other "Did you sleep well."

"Yeah, but we found out that Raven really is a vampire."

"Uh…"

"She doesn't go to sleep until 4am!" Daphne wined "4am! A fucking dollar sigh on the keyboard am! And she carries around her umbrella every where." Atticus just laughed and they walked in comfortable silence to the dining hall. When they got there however, it was anything but.

The place was a mess, a food fight had broken out and Mercury, Tenchi, and Tom were in the middle of it. Looking up, Atticus could make out Jim sitting in the nooks and crannies the design of the ceiling and chandeliers allowed, and looking down he saw Wan knocked out on the floor. He just sighed and walked over to the food line to get his food and tea, dodging anything thrown at him, and went outside to eat. He left Daphne in the hall to deal with the mess, it was too early for this.

He wandered for a bit, but ultimately settled for a spot under a tree on a hill. He sat there, just enjoying his breakfast. The grass was still slightly wet from the morning dew but Atticus was too tired to care. He had tea and waffles, all he needed was a book and life would be good. Unfortunately, he didn't get a book, he got the 18th seat. "Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself."

"Did you see the dining hall?" he asked through bites of his breakfast.

"No," Soul shook their head "I heard Amulet yelling and I decided I wasn't hungry."

"Oh yeah, you had to share a room with her and Naruto. How was that?"

Soul blew some short brown hair out of their face. "Naruto snores and talks in her sleep. And Amulets ok, but she insisted on having the bunk bed, not just the top, but the whole thing." Soul complained, moving their arms up in distress causing Atticus to laugh and nearly choke on the last bite of the human food. This only made Soul smile and give a small chuckle.

Their conversation was short lived however when a third voice soon drowned out the conversation. "Atticus. Atticus." Someone yelled without enthusiasm "Atticus, boss man wants you." The second in command sighed and got up to see who was calling. He climbed over the side of the hill facing the castle to see someone who looked like the king but instead of the suit and tie, he was wearing a yellow hoodie with black sleeves and a skull on the chest. "Oh, there you are. Come on, your making me miss my game of poker with Vampire and Raven."

"Ah, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Law Tekking. Listen can you make your way to the throne room by yourself or do you need me to hold your hand."

"Nay, I can make it on my own." He went back to say by to Soul, only to relies he was gone already, as well as his waffle plate. "Oh well." He shrugged, grabbed his tea mug, and headed to the floating hall. It took a little while for him to get there since the hall was in the center of the castle and he was on the outside, and he didn't like running. Along the way he found an unseated officer "Hey, can you get this fill up again with tea, any kind will do, and bring it to the throne room?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." She said with a blush.

When he finally made it he found his captain looking out one of the windows. "She's a beautiful horse, isn't she?" he said, referring to the black horse in the garden, Atticus had only caught a glimpse of it the day before "Rescued her from Germany, no one knows how long she has been alive, but locals have some pretty amazing stories of her."

"Sir, you didn't bring me all the way here to talk about your pet, did you?"

"What?" he looked up to see his right hand man "Oh, no, no. I asked you here to get you to do paperwork."

"Hu? Paperwork?"

"Yes, you see, you're my right hand man, and that means you have to do paperwork. I mean so do I but that's not the point here." He motioned to a pushcart by the door, a pushcart that just so happened to be filled with the most evil creation known to man, paperwork. "Well, get to work!" Tek smiled and handed Atticus a ball point pen. He was just about to walk out the door when he turned around and said, "Oh yea, you have your own office, its located opposite to mine." He pointed to behind the throne, to the door he had come out of the day before. "Good luck and my whatever religious figure you believe in be watching over you." And with that he left.

"I'm a soul reaper." He mumbled "What religion would I even have? I'm already dead." He went over to the push cart and wheeled it over to the great chair of power, unfortunately there were steps he had to get up before he could reach his office.

Before he could figure out what to do however, the door to the throne room opened and in walked Laugh with his tea mug in hand. "You know; you really shouldn't ask the unseated officers to come to a place they had no idea how to get to." She set the mug of the table and looked over to the push cart. "Do you need help?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry." He mumbled as she came over to help lift the cart up the steps. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, is your hair natural?" he asked, referring to the dark blue of Pandas hair.

"Yeah, and so is Enzi's pink hair," she said with a grunt as they lifted the heavy paperwork "And Raven's purple hair, and Det's white hair, though he does spike it, and I'm pretty sure Mercury's red hair is natural to. But Mr. DB's red hair isn't, you can see his blond roots if you get close enough."

"How do you know this?"

"We had a poker party last night around 2am. It was stripper poker and if you ran out of clothes without getting into indecent, you had to do truth or dare."

"How many people were there?"

"Um let me think, it was a long night and alcohol was involved. Tenchi was there, so was Mercury, and Daphne, and so was Tom, Mu, DB, Det, and Raven. Sky brought along Wan and Enzi, and there was Neo and me!" she smiled "Oh, and two of King. I think they called themselves Vampire and Rad."

"So 15." He sighed "And how come I wasn't invited?"

"We tried, but you were asleep." She reached for the door handle only to realize it was locked "Do you have a key?"

"Uh, you can try my room key." He said and handed over the copper key. Laugh quickly fitted it into the slot on the door and opened it. The room was nice enough, had a nice view and a nice desk. "Wait, so what about Tom? That said of blond cannot be natural."

"Surprisingly it is! And I didn't even think blond hair and blacks eyes naturally went together. But then again Mu has orange eyes and similar hair, kind of in the same style to, so I guess anything possible. And DB's yellow eyes, and Wan's red eyes. Man, we are a weird group." Laugh said as she pushed the cart next to the desk and sighed "Do you need help with this?"

"No, I got it. You can go play poker so something."

"Hey, that's not the only thing I can do. You should have seen me and Detstusction-"

"Det, stustion?"

"It's a, it's a long story." She giggled "Anyways, me, Detstrusction, Neo, and Rensa. I think Enzi was there to but I don't really remember. But we all went out after the poker party for a race. Det didn't run however, I'm not sure he can, but he can sure break things." She laughed.

"Should I be worried?"

"Probably." Laugh shrugged, going through some of the papers. "Hey, it looks like there isn't as much here as it seems. Most of it is having to do with us and our Zanpaktous. The abilities and collateral damage and such. And this other pile here on the top is available missions." She picked up a mission file and glazed through it. "Hey, can you sign off on this one? I want to give it a go."

"Uh, sure. Just let me look through it first. Can you bring me my tea?" he asked as he took the file from Laugh. It seemed like a simple job, a local town has had a number of disappearances following the death of a couple criminal in a prison riot. That kind of profile would create a quick but not that powerful hollow. And the spirit awareness was higher than average for a town that size. Laugh could handle it by herself no problem but it would also be a good team building challenge. Not for all the seated officers, but for a group of 3 or 4 at most. There was no clear indication on how many hollows would be there but the numbers didn't seem to support that it would be a difficult mission.

"Here you go." Laugh handed him his tea. "So did you sigh it?"

"Yeah, but I need to list who is going on the mission. Let me go through everyone's files before I pick your team."

"Here, let me pick and you can get back to your paperwork!" She smiled, taking the paper from his hand.

"I don't know-"

"Ubbaba!" She placed a finger on his lips "Do you see how much you work you have to do? Let me handle this."

"Ah, I guess." He said, backing away from her.

"Great!" she smiled "See you when we return!" she yelled and skipped out the door. "Ok," she muttered to herself "I need to bring Neo with me but who else should I pick? Wan's cool and all but he like to start randomly singing. Or is that just when he's drunk? Sky might do, but he mentioned he's more of a hand to hand fighter. What about Enzi? No, I don't want his pretty hair to get all messed up. I'm not too sure Raven would be all to interested and I haven't see Rensa since last night. Det seems like the type to be up for a mission. I'll go ask him!" she decided before going to find the 9th seat. "Oh Det!" she sang, knocking on his door.

She didn't expect him to answer, or even be in there, but surprisingly the door opened. It was Sky. "Oh, morning Laugh. What are you doing here?" he asked, not relising he was only in his uniform shorts and had forgotten to put his vest on.

"I'm looking for Det for a mission!" She said, trying not to look at his chest and instead trying to star into his eyes. His eyes reminded her of the sky, and she liked the sky.

"Wow! You've already got a mission!" he smiled in aw, he was the type to be easily impressed. "What's it about?"

"It's just a scouting mission. Could probably be done with an unseated officer, but I scooped it up from Atticus's desk before he handed it out. Figured us seated officers should get the first mission."

"That's so cool! Well Det's not here right now, but I could always come with you."

"Um, well, Tek mentioned that you are a specialist in hand to hand combat. And you see, that won't work well with mine and Neo's power since we are both long range and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ok, that sounds cool. Well I think Det is still in the dining hall trying to clean up. You should look there."

"Thanks!" Laugh yelled as she sprinted towards the dining hall. She had managed to get some food in her before the fight broke out, but clearly not enough since her stomach was growling. Neo would probably be there to, he had still been in bed when she left that morning so he might be eating. Or he could be the kind of person who didn't eat breakfast. That would suck. Then she would have to look somewhere else. Slowly she made her way to the dining hall and looked around "Hey!" she yelled "Is Det, the 9th seat, in here?"

"Over here!" An unseated officer yelled, waving her over.

Det was busy trying to clean the wall behind them off. "Hey Det!" she tapped his shoulder "Wana forget this and go on a mission with me and Neo?"

"What kind of mission?" he asked, still trying to scrub the oatmeal out of the stone.

"Just an easy first time job, something to get us out."

"Have you talked to Neo yet?"

"No, but he'll say yes."

"Go talk to him and then I'll meet you in your guys' room. I need to finish this and take a shower."

"Ok!" she smiled "Oh, and by the way, you have some of it in your hair." she motioned to her own to try and show him where before turning away and looking for her partner. He wasn't in the dining hall, so he must be somewhere else. She remembered the garden in the middle of the castle and wondered if he was there. She pulled out her map and started walking in the direction of the green empty space drawn on the paper. While she took a few wrong turns along the way, finding both the library and the sports bar, she eventually made it to the lush garden and ran straight into a horse. "Hello girl. Have you seen a brown hair Shinigami anywhere around here have you?"

"You wouldn't be talking about me would you?" Neo asked as he climbed out of the bush.

"Neo!" Laugh cried as she jumped to hug her partner. "Hey, Neo, do you want to go on a mission with me and Det?"

"Right now? We haven't even spent a day here yet and you want to leave for a mission?"

Laugh rolled her eyes and let go of her partner. "Oh come on. We're given the amazing gift of being able to live in the human world again and you don't want to explore it?"

"Well I mean; I would like to get settled before leaving. But I guess I can see your point." He sighed and wiped his hand on his shirt, getting mud on it. "How hard is the mission?"

"Oh, it's really easy, no chance of anything bad happening."

"Then why are we, the 3rd seats, going on it."

"Because I helped Atticus move into his office and I wanted to do the first mission of the 101st division."

"Fine, I'll come with you."

"Yeah!" she hugged him again before grabbing his hand and running off to meet up with Det. The journey was shorter know that they knew how to get from point A from point B, but it still took them a while. The two quickly grabbed their stuff before heading over to their new team meats room. "Det!" Laugh called as she rapped on his door "You out of the shower?"

"Yeah, don't come in through, I'm getting dressed."

"Ok, once you're ready, meet us outside by the front door." Neo called and started heading towards the entrance hall with Laugh touting behind.

By the time they got there, a small group of people were waiting for them. Most unseated officers, some seated. "So, you're really going through with this? Do you need me to come with you?" XV asked.

"No, I don't think anyone's going to get really hurt. A medic won't be needed." Neo assured her. They chatted for a bit until Det arrived. It looked like he was trying to jog but wasn't really able to. "Alright, are we good here?" he asked, getting an affirmative from the two. "Then were off. Tell King we'll be back as soon as we get rid of the hollows."

"Oh Neo," X called "Give Det a lift. He can't keep up in flash step."

"Ah, how do you know this?" Det asked, a little creeped out.

"I'm a medic sweetie. I know what being paralyze looks like. Even if it's only a minor case."

Det gave her a look and Neo turned to Laugh "Do you want me to carry him or you?"

"Well I'm stronger then you." She commented with her arms folded.

"But I'm faster so we'll end up running the same speed if he slows me down." He said and looked down at her "Beside, he's way taller then you so it would just be awkward if you try."

"Good point." She shrugged "Alright Det! Clime on to Neo and we can get going!"

"Did you have to tell them?" Det asked.

"What! You expect to be able to keep something like that secret! They would have found out after the first step!"

"But you didn't have to tell them." He said, earning a glare from XV's green eyes.

"Come on!" Neo yelled, getting impatient. Det gave one last sigh before climbing onto Neo's back and disappearing.

Slowly the group of people went back into the castle, along with XV and the other seated officers. "X?" Jim asked, leaning over to the girl "Do you have your map on you?"

"Uh, Yeah." She said, handing over the slip of paper "What are you looking for?"

"A chapel, or just a quiet place to go."

"Your religions? Why, you're a soul reaper, your already dead and know how the afterlife works." She laughed as they pushed one of the doors open to a side hall, away from where everyone else was going.

"That doesn't stop me." He answered and handed her back the map. "Here. So where are you going?" he asked as they turned down another random hall.

"To set up the medic word. It should be just down here." She pulled out a sliver key and slid it into the keyhole. The door opened up to a large room office room. "I bet all the other rooms are the beds." She muttered as she looked over the medic supplies.

"Do you need help?"

"No but I would appreciate the company." She laughed. And pulled out the syringes "But don't touch anything." Jim nodded, not eager to get close to the needles anyways. "So Jim, how did you come across your religion in the soul society?"

"Actually, I kept it from my human life." He said, settling himself down on the desk chair. "It's the only thing I remember from it and I've always thought that it was for a reason. I know I was an exorcist, or at least, my family was."

"Is that because your family's name was Smite."

"No, I gave myself that name because of my memories." He smiled "Hey, while we're on the topic of names. What's up with yours?" he asked, playing with a pen that was laying on the table.

"Mine?"

"Yeah, I mean what kind of name is XV anyways? It doesn't even sound like a name."

"That's because I was named after my parents. My father's name was Xavier and my mother's name was Valerie." She pulled out two large water jugs and went over to the sink to fill them up.

"And why was that? Did your parents feel the need to name you after themselves?"

"My dad dies a weak before I was born." She said, without changing her tone of voice or pausing in her actions "And my mom dies in childbirth. It was my Aunts who raised me."

"And you remember this from your human life?"

"It's the only thing I remember. Like you I gave myself my last name. XV is kind of a weird name and people kept asking me about it so the story just kind of became ingrained." She shrugged and pulled out another two jugs.

"What are those for?" he asked.

"Water type Zanpaktou, used for healing and on field treatment. The water either comes from my body or these jugs of water." She pated the cool clay "And that's why medics wont heal scouts."

"What?"

"What?"

Jim sighed and got off the chair. "Well the chapel is the room at the end of this hall so if you need me, I'll be there." He said and left the room. XV waved goodbye and continued with her work.

She stayed in her medic hall, moving in and out through all the rooms, occasionally going to check on Jim, all the way to dinner. Even then, Jim had to come and pull her away from her work. "You're the freaking medic Val! We can't have you getting sick."

"What did you just call me?"

"Val. You said your parents' names were Xavier and Valerie. Well, everyone keeps calling you X for Xavier. But that's a males' name and you clearly call yourself female so I figured that I should call you your mother's name." he said, looking at his feet as they walked towards the call of food.

The medic did say anything for a while so Jim looked up. She was smiling "Thanks." She said. "No one's ever thought of that before."

They didn't say anything for the rest of the trip. Once they arrived at the dining hall Jim told everybody to call XV just Val. She explained to them what her name meant and everyone shrugged and went on with their meal.

"Anyone want to do something again tonight?" Mu asked as she ate her beef and rice. The food was good, but nothing she couldn't beat.

"No, I'm still tired from last night, I rather just sleep." Wan said as he picked at his chicken.

"What about you Atticus?" Mu asked, only to see him asleep at the table. "I'll take that as a no. Anyone else?" everyone shook their head. "Raven?"

"Training."

"You slept all day and your spending the night training?"

"Ankoku doesn't like sunlight." Said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And Ankoku is?"

"My Zanpaktou."

Mu tipped her head back "So no one wants to hang out tonight?" she wined, earning a laugh from her team mates. "Don't laugh at me! I just want to have a little fun! It's a castle! Let's enjoy it!" she said waving her arms around. "I know we explored it last night but honestly, who really remembers that?"

Wan raised his hand slowly, "I do."

"You didn't really drink."

"Wait, so why were you singing?" Enzi asked.

"I just do." He shrugged. Him and Jim talked about music for a little bit before they headed to bed.

The next couple of days went by smoothly, the squad members exploring the castle and training outside in the fields. Atticus spent his days doing paperwork, his meal talking with his team mates, and his nights sleeping. But slowly, a bad feeling was raising in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, something was horribly wrong. It got to the point where he had to leave his paper work and wander around the castle, just trying to figure out what was so out of place. He visited the library, the kitchen, he even talked to the captain but nothing bad was going on, nothing bad he could find, and that worried him. He trusted his gut, he always trusted his gut. And his gut was telling him something that he couldn't figure out.

His black eyes scanned across the grounds as he ate breakfast one morning. Soul was with him again; it had become a tradition that they meat out there for breakfast. "Soul, do you see that?" he asked, standing up, trying to figure out what that black dot on the horizon was.

Soul stood up as well and leaned closer. "No." he whispered before disappearing and reappearing at the bottom of the hill "GET THE MEDIC!" he yelled, in a tone Atticus had never heard him use before. Instantly the second in command knew what was wrong, what his gut had been warning him about.

"Val!" he yelled as he flashed through the front door "Val!" He burst into the dining hall and nearly toppled the people moving around. "Where's Valerie!" he yelled out of breath. "Please, I need the medic!"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Laugh, her team." He huffed "Their back." Val was gone before he even finished his sentence. Atticus and many other soul reapers were soon to follow.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw Val already at work and releasing her Shikai. The three bodies of the team laid out in front of her. "Melt their wounds and freeze their blood!" she commanded. While the blade itself didn't physically change at its release, it did gain a blue glow around it. She quickly placed the flat of the blade against Det's chest "Aka Kōri!" she called. Slowly a sheet of ice formed around his body before breaking off where ever there wasn't any deep injuries. Which wasn't in many places. "Sky! You're the fastest of us. I need you to take Det to the medic hall and be careful not to break the ice." She said in a huff as she moved away from the body and pulled out a silver plastic water sack and drank from it. Sky scooped up his team mate and flashes stepped away. She quickly repeated the process with the two third seat though they were far less hurt. Atticus took Neo wile Sky returned and picked up Laugh. Val pulled out another water pouch and drained it. "Someone, I need you to carry me to the medic hall." Wan stepped forward and gently lifted the girl up. "And someone go get the king!" she yelled.


	3. Stop, Breath Kamikaze

**Chapter 3. Stop, Breath. Kamikaze.**

Val was many things, but a doctor she was not. She was trained as a medic. Someone meant to give emergence aid and treatment on the battle field. Not to be put in a hospital and expected to bring someone back from the brink of death. Neo and Laugh could be treated with some simple Kaidō but Det couldn't. He was covered in so many cuts and gashes, she had to use her Zanpaktou's base ability, Mizu no Niku, to make sure they didn't get infected. That alone went through 4 jugs of water. If she had done this out on in the field, she would have died of dehydration. Not to mention the ice she used would have given him frostbite if left on for too long. After stabilizing him and the others came the hard part, figuring out what was wrong internally. Det was the only one she couldn't figure out. She had been given the files describing their powers. Laugh could create water mirrors. There was no weaknesses or side effects that could cause this. Even when combined with Neo's lighting powers who was effected by weather could create this effect on him. There were no sighs of electrocution and the only sigh of damage by water was the remainder of Vals' water. Det's ability was sound based and was the only one of the three with a Bankai. But even the side effects of his Zanpaktou couldn't have caused any of the injuries given to the team. Val wanted to talk to Atticus to see if he knew something she didn't but King had taken him to the throne room to have a chat.

A soft knock filled the silent air around here and Val turned around to see Jim standing in the doorway. "How are they?" he asked quietly.

"Stable. But I'm not sure for how long." She sighed and leaned against a wall, she missed her office chair but didn't want to leave the room to go get it. "Do you know why we're here Jim? Do you know why we are in the human world and not in the soul society where the dead belong?"

"Because we don't fit with society's standers." He answered, moving into the room and to sir at the edge of a table.

"That's why were where chosen for the contest. That is not, however, why this squad exists." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Why do you think you were given the 16th seat when you have Bankai?" she asked.

"Because the ranking system of this squad is lacks." He said a little unsure.

"The missions we are given here are not meant for normal Shinigami." She said, opening her eyes to look at the three bodies "The chance of death and uncertainty is so high that they don't even want to give it to a captain. They didn't want to lose a captain but there was no one else strong enough to take on the mission. The soul society doesn't want us. We're either to strong or to different. However, we are still of use so they don't want to throw us in the Maggots Nest. They don't trust us enough to make us captains even though we out rank several of them."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that unless King himself went, I would still end up treating a body. And do you know why I'm here? Why I know this?" she paused "Because I was already a member in squad 4. I overheard the conversation that decided I was coming here, that I would be put in the contest. You see, I didn't get to choice in entering the contest like you did. I was put in and told about it the day before coming here. My squad members, though, didn't want me to leave. They didn't think I was ready to be on my own, and they were right. I can't do this on my own." Tears started filling her eyes, but she refused to look away from the three. "I was sent here to keep you alive so they could continue sending you on more missions. God's wind. That's was they called this squad. A destructive force that no one can see. That no one wants to see." she took a moment to compose herself.

"Val-"

"King isn't like normal Shinigamis either. He's human but not a substitute nor was he born to soul reapers, yet somehow he has powers." She gave a small laugh "And all those copies of himself. No one has any idea how or even why they exist, and yet there here, and no one can say anything about it." she pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the three "I want to know what went on during that mission. I want to know what they expect of us so we can get strong enough to deal with it. We need to know about what each other can do as well. I don't want another team on my table but if we continue going into things blind."

Jim continued to sit at the table as Val began to fill up the water jugs again. He didn't know what to say, sure he was angry at the soul society but like that was going to do anything to change their situation. "Can you teach me?" he said.

"Teach you what?"

"Teach me Kaidō." He pushed himself off the table "That's what's its call right, healing kido. If you can teach me then you won't be the only one who knows, that way one of us can work on the field and the other can stay here."

"I'm just a medic, I have no qualifications to teach-"

"But seconds could make the difference Val! If I just know enough to keep them alive to get to you! I took Kaidō as an elective in the academy so I know the basics."

"It's not that simple-"

"Tetsu Ōji no Hidari, Left Hand of the Iron Prince!" he yelled, moving closer to Val "I can manipulate my reishi and the reishi absorbed by my Zanpaktou. So I'm no stranger to advanced control."

"Jim." She stopped him "I can't teach you because I don't know how." She paused and smiled "But I can give you the stuff that taught me."

The next few days for Jim were spent in the library and small sessions with Val. It was intense and hard work that include, but limited to, anatomy and the structure of a soul. Val couldn't leave the team for long periods of time so the two took turns getting food and sleeping to make sure no one went into critical condition while help was away. It was on one of Jims rare free days when he wandered into the dining hall with a thick book in his hand. He had spent the entire morning in the library and was already five chapters in a new book on healing. He didn't even bother looking up from the pages as he filled two trays with food and wandered back to the door. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Mercury yelled and ran to catch up with the distracted Soul Reaper before he was lost in the mass of people moving in and out of the dining hall, the main group of seated officers were not there so Mercury didn't really have anyone to bother at the time being. "Oh! What's that?" he swiped the book from Jim's hand "You're learning Kaidō?"

"Yeah," he said as he moved the second tray into his now free hand.

"And why would you be doing that? You're a fighter. That what your Zanpaktou does."

"And how do you know that?"

"I stole your file from Atticus when he wasn't looking." He laughed as he flicked through some pages.

"Of course you did." Jim sighed.

"So why _are_ you learning healing?"

"I don't want Val to be the only one who knew how to heal. Because right now if she went down we would all go down."

"Is that your only reason?" he asked, nudging his shoulder.

"Yes."

Mercury's shoulders sagged and he closed the book. "I'm guessing that extra tray is for XV-"

"Her name is Val."

"No, her name is XV, we call her Val. Anyway, so the extra tray is for her?" He said, more as a statement then a question. "And the thirds and ninth seats are with her. Well I haven't gone to see them yet so I'll join you on your delivery girl mission. It'll give you a hand." He handed back the book and took a tray as the two went down the stairs. "So you've seen what their like, do you have any idea what cause it?" he asked.

"No, and neither does Val. That's what's troubling her. We have to wait to find out what went on during that mission before Det can be properly treated."

"Just Det?"

"Yes, well, Laugh and Neo aren't as badly hurt, they should be waking up soon. I haven't seen them today though; I've been in the library." Jim said as they entered the medic hall. "Val!" he called "I brought you food!" He opened the door to the office, only to relies that she wasn't there. "Maybe she's with the others." He said as he placed Val's tray down to go and went to look for her Mercury shrugged and placed the try he was carrying down as well. The two went over to the room were the three were, but when he opened the door, no one was there. The room was completely empty, even the beds were neatly made.

"Um, care to fill me in?" Mercury asked, leaning onto Jims shoulder so he could see the room. "Like maybe the detail of where they are."

Jim took a quick look at the plate that was hanging on the wall that read treatment room. "I wonder if-" he cut himself off and moved further down the hall.

"What? Wha' da ya got for me?"

"Val said that depending on how well their treatment goes last night, she could move the two third seats to the recovery room. But that doesn't explain where Det went." He looked down trying to see if there was a light under any of the closed door. "Hey Mercury, how good at you sensing reiatsu? Because I can only tell general area."

"Um," Mercury closed his eyes "There are four people in the room farthest down to the left."

"Ok." He said and made his way towards it. The hall wasn't straight, more of an L shape with a staircase near the end, and the recovery rooms, as well as the emergency room, where located near the end of the L.

"There are also three people at the very end of the hall."

Wait what? Jim stopped and looked at Mercury. "There should only be four people here. Who are the other three?"

"King is the only clear one I can make out, there is something muffling everything." He kept his eyes closed "Um, there's only one that I'm not familiar with. I'm guessing they're from squad 4 back in the soul society because of how concentrated their reishi is." He opened his eyes again and scanned the hall "Someone's coming towards us." He said and jogged around the corner. "Atticus!" he yelled.

"Atticus?" Jim followed to see the lieutenant. He looked tired, his black eyes seamed paler then they were the first night they had arrived in the castle. "Oh Atticus. What are you doing here?"

"King wanted to see the three." He sighed, even his voice sounded tired.

"But why are you here?" Atticus shrugged and motioned Jim and Mercury to follow him. "Atticus, what's going on?"

"Neo has woken up."

"Is he ok?"

"Yes but Det is not. King has brought in an elite healer and they had to move him to the emergence room last night. They've been in there for nine hours now."

There was silence between the group for a moment before Mercury spoke up, "So Neo," he asked, his shinny blue eyes glinted in the light "Did he tell you anything about what happened? About how they got hurt."

Atticus shook his head and stopped outside a door, his hand on the handle. "No, he- He doesn't remember. He knows he left for a mission but after they left the castle grounds it goes blank." He signed "Mercury, I need to ask you to leave."

"What? Why?"

"I'm only allowing Jim to be here for training reasons. You should go tells the others about Neo's and Det's conditions." He paused "And go find the other Tekkings, tell them what's going on and to meet in the hidden room. Law and Rad should be in the garden, they can tell you how to get to the others."

Mercury wanted to argue, but he didn't see what he could get out of it. While he did care for his team mates, he had really only known the three for about a day before they had dropped off the face of the earth. He had no idea how to help them and would probably end up being pushed to the corner of the room while everyone else did their job. He sighed and nodded "Alright, tell Neo hi for me." He said before waving goodbye to Jim and trotting off down the hall. Lunch was almost over but there were bound to still be some people eating, there were probably some people in their rooms as well but Mercury didn't want to go all the way up there so he headed straight to the diner.

"Oi! Merc!" Rensa said Mercury passed him in one of the halls. He was sitting on a windowsill and blowing puffs of smoke up in the air.

"Oh hey Ren." He said to his native American friend. "You know you're not supposed to smoke in the halls."

Rensa took another puff before putting the cigar out on the stone. "So I heard you went to see the three today at lunch. Did you find anything out for us non medics?" he said as he pushed himself of the glass and felt into step with the lower seated member. It was clear he had been there for a while, probably skipped lunch all together, if you were to go by the red mark on his exposed back. Mercury had always thought it was a weird fashion choice to make it so your uniform exposed your back but after learning about 4th seats' Bankai it made sense.

"Neo has woken up."

"Mh, that's news. Anything else?"

"He doesn't remember. Not what happened during the mission or how he got hurt. And Det has been moved to the emergency room. King's brought in a healer from squad 4 and they are working on him right now." he said as they turned down the hall and made it to the crossing point of weather they wanted to go to the dinner or the garden. "Hey, can you go tell the others about Neo and Det. I need to find the other Kings."

"Sure, and if you see Enzi on your way down there, tell him it's his turn to clean the shower drain." Mercury gave a quick glance at him nodded. Both Rensa and Enzi had long hair so he could imagine the problem they had when it came to caring for it.

"Will do." Mercury waved and headed down a flight of narrow stars. He had never physically been in the garden; he was worried that with all the crowded plant life he would feel Closter phobic. In fact, he was getting antsy just going down the stairs. Rensa likes nature, he probably should have asked him to come down here instead. Finally, he got out of the cramp space and into the open air. Unlike the castle, the air outside was warm and lacked the cool draft that would leak through the stones. There were many tall plants that surrounded the entrance and provided shade. Mercury didn't really know where to start looking so he figured he just start walking and hope he'll find someone. Sipping under some plants he walked forward and ran straight into a tree. "Ow."

"You really should stick to the paths." A voice came. Mercury looked up to see a 14-year-old by sitting in the tree. He slid down the branches and hopped over the older male "You won't run into things."

Mercury glared at the boy "Who are you?" he asked.

"You can call me Inoichi, I'm Inos' younger brother."

"Ino?" Mercury asked, "Oh, you mean Naruto Ino. The 20th seat." He turned and began to walk away from the strange kid. "Well whatever, see you later."

"Don't you need help finding the copies?"

Mercury stopped "How do you know I was looking for them?" he asked, turning to look at the child. The blondies star was starting to creep him out, what with the lack of pupils and all. At Least Narutos had sky blue eyes with the needed black dot in the center. This kids' eyes were just blank.

"Because I can see your mind." He said plainly as he started to wander down a path

Mercury quickly followed, more than a little confused by the child. "You can, what?"

"See your mind." He tapped the side of his face. "You have strong thoughts so I see them."

"Can Naruto do that to?"

"Only if she tries. She can see so she has to try not to." He said and made a turn before stopping. "Follow this path and I'll take you to the center of the garden. The copies should be sitting around a stone table. And if you see a black horse, don't touch it. You're not worthy."

Mercury just sighed, he's been doing that a lot ever since he had come to the human world and it was getting annoying. He wandered down the path a little bit more until the foliage started to lighten up, which he was grateful for, and he was spit out into the center of the garden. Sitting there at the stone table were two identical males, one was dressed in a similar suit to the King but with sunglasses and a backwards hat, the other was in a Law Trafalgar jacket and hat. "Uh," he wasn't really sure what to say.

Law looked up from his book to see the awkward 15 seat just standings there. "Do you need something?"

"King sent me to tell you about the three." Mercury said, trying to sound confident.

"The three? Oh you mean the ones who went on a mission without proper training?" Law said, setting down his book. "So what about them?"

"Neo has woken up without memory and Det is in the emergency room."

"Is that it?"

"And Atticus wants you in the hidden room."

"Atticus?" Rad asked, not looking up from his game.

"The lieutenant." Law responded. Rad made an 'O' shape with his mouth. "Did he tell you why we have to go there?"

"No, but he said you could tell me where to find the Tekkings."

"Oh, they're in the dungeon."

Rad glanced up from game "All of them?" Law nodded "Oh, you're screwed man." He laughed and went on playing. "With all the times I've died, it's always their fault." Mercury gave Rad an odd look. Not only did king have clones, but they were apparently immortal as well. "I mean; they always bring me back to life but still! Dyeing hurts man!"

"Here, how about I go tell them and you don't get killed." Law said as he stood up. "Rad, you're coming with me."

"Why?"

"Because I need a meat shield."

"Good point." He shrugged and got up. "Alright, see ya little man." he waved and left.

Mercury stood there alone for a moment, wondering what to do next when a voice came in. "So, I guess you want me to take you to see my sister now?" he quickly spun around to see Inoichi standing right behind him.

"Why would I need your sister?"

"For Neos' memories."

"Neos'- Oh kid you are a genius!" he yelled, grabbing the little kids hand and began to run out of the garden and up the stairs. "Naruto, do you know where she is?"

"In the back training room!" he yelled and slipped out of the older boys' grasp. "You should go there some times, you're pretty weak." Mercury was to excited to care as he ran down the hall, it was an unfamiliar part of the castle but luckily he still and his map on him. He had kind of forgotten to pack more than three pair of his uniform and had yet to find the laundry room. Or really look for one. He knew there was one, since Daphne had come back with a pile of clothes the day before, but he just hasn't looked yet. He looked at the map, and decided that it was completely useless.

He continued to wonder for a while, mostly going in a straight line. It was something he had noticed from the time spent in the castle. It was most square shape so more often then not your end up going in a straight line. The main exception to this was the front, it was much thicker than any other 'wall' allowing more turns in a single journey. But here in the back of the castle, it was a straight shot. "Mercury?" Mercury turned around "Hey Mercury, what are you doing back here?" Enzi asked.

"Oh hey En!" Mercury swung his arm up to put it around Enzis' shoulder, only for him to dodge out of the way "I was looking for Naruto in the back training room. Do you know how to get there?"

"Well the back training room is in the option direction, seventh door on your left. Down the stairs and fifth door on your right." He pointed. "I can walk you there if you want."

"No time to walk, I need to run." He ran down the hall, and then ran back "Wait, go to the medic hall. Tell them I found a way to figure out what went wrong!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" he yelled before running down the hall again. "Oh, and Rensa said it's your turn to clean the shower drain!"

"Ok," Enzi waved and walked down the hall. Didn't he just clean that thing a few days ago? How many showers did his roommate take? Slowly his walk turned into a jog and his jog turned into a full of sprint, and the sprint turned into just a few short flash steps. He almost fell down some stairs and ran into a couple of people but he managed to make it to the hall safely. He had only been in the hall twice before but it was pretty simple lay out. "Valerie!" he yelled and he flashed from one door to another. "Val!"

Jim ran into the hall "Enzi, what's wrong?" he asked, very confused why the pink haired Shinigami was yelling for the medic. "What's happening? Who's hurt?"

"Mercury!"

"What happened to Mercury!"

"Nothing! Nothing's happened to him. He sent me to tell you that he's found a way to figure out what is wrong!"

Jim sighed in relief "Did he tell you what he figured out?"

Enzi paused "Well, no." he said awkwardly. "He just yelled at me while trying to find Naruto."

"Naruto, what can she do?"

"A lot more then you think I can." Naruto said as she and Mercury flash stepped into the hall. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Neo you idiot!" she yelled. "You want me to see if I can find his memories, well I need him in order to do that!"

"What? You mean you can look through people's memories?"

"Yes!" Naruto shouted.

Val stuck her head out of the recovery room "If you don't stop shouting, I'm going to superglue your mouth shut." She growled. She looked absolutely exhausted, with dark rings under her eyes and a large glass of water in her hands.

"Val!" Naruto yelled and flashed stepped in front of her, she was given a dark glare as the medic moved out of the door but the blond didn't notice. "Where's Neo?" Val opened her mouth to respond but Naruto cut her off. "Listen, I can look through people's memories! If you let me, I can try and figure out what happened!"

There was silence in the hall for a while, the small group of people stood there waiting for their medic to say something. "Well," she said "If you think you can do it, and do it safely, then follow me." The four people moved to follow "Just Naruto please."

"Why?" Mercury yelled. "I was the one who thought of using Naruto! By the way, your younger brother is really creepy."

"Oh you meet Inoichi!" Naruto said, clapping her hands together. "Oh, so that's how you know about the mind tricks."

"Valerie, please just let us in. We won't touch anything, can you just let us in?" Enzi asked.

Val looked conflicted but eventually have in "Alright, fine." She said and when back in the door. "Neo? There's some people here to see you."

The group entered the recovery room, while it wasn't very large, it had enough space for the Mercury and Enzi to sit and not get in the way. "Where's Atticus and King?" Mercury asked.

"They went to meet with the clones." Jim said, moving to sit only to have Naruto take his chair. "Hey."

"Alright. Just to warn you, when I do this I and Neo will fall unconscious so don't freak out ok." She said sitting down. "Ok, Neo. I am going to look into your mind and try and find out what happened on the mission. I won't look into anything personal and I won't tell anyone any secrets that I find. Are you ok with that?" Neo nodded, he had lost his voice sometime during the mission. Naruto held her hands out in a shape similar to a circle, her eyes dilated and the two collapse.

"So," Mercury said, turning to Enzi "How is the training room?"

"It's nice, Naruto keeps setting off the fire alarm though." He commented.

"That sucks." He said. It quiet again so he turned to Val "Has anything changed with Det in the time I've been gone?"

"Aiko is with him now. Remember the first night when he commented that he likes being around people at all times. Well we found out why. We tried leaving the room and his reishi levels dropped to critical again."

The two boys made a noise of understanding. They made some more small talk, comparing the color of Atticus' eyes to the color of a hollows hole, Enzi's eyes to radioactive emeralds, and Jim's hair and eyes to bark. XV just laughed at it all and refilled her water. It wasn't long before Naruto woke up with a gasp. "Did you find anything out?" Jim asked.

"Bounts!"


	4. It's not group therapy, its

**Chapter 4. It's not group therapy, its background information.**

"Bounts! Why did it have to be bounts? Why couldn't it have been hollows or rouge Shinigami or something?" Atticus said as he slammed his head against his table.

"At least we can give Det the proper treatment now." XV said as she flipped through a book on bounts. "It says here that bounts where the origin of vampires. Do you think that's what Vampire Tekking is?"

"No." He mumbled, adjusting his position so his chin was supporting his head. There was a big red spot on his forehead. "Besides, I thought all the bounts had died off."

"What do you think happens to a Bount that dies?" Val asked.

"They were created from soul reapers so I guess they follow the same rules that we do." He looked up at the girl sitting across from him. "Ok, what are you reading?"

" _White search, Bount addition_."

"Ah." He said and went back to paperwork. "Shouldn't you be getting back to Laugh soon now that your friend is taking care of Mr. headphones."

"Those are some heavy duty headphone." She laughed "But no, Jim is with her. I actually wanted to talk to you about having a seated meeting."

"A seated meeting? As in a meeting with all the seated members? Why?"

"I talked to Naruto after she went through Neo's memories. Apparently no one on the team probably understood each other's power. Sound has a weird effect when combined with water and Det's arms and legs were temporarily paralyzed both by sound and electricity, it effected his heart pretty badly to. Laugh was effected as well but not to the extent Det was, she mostly just dealing with exhaustion. It looking like she was the one who carried the other two back. They're luckily she's so athletic or else they probably wouldn't have made it." she flipped through a couple more pages. "It seems that the reason Det is in such an odd condition is that a Bount got a hold of him and started absorbing his soul after he was already badly injured."

"So you want a group meeting so we can talk about each other's power?"

"We need to get to know each other, not just as roommates, but as a team."

Atticus thought about it, playing with the pen in his hand. "Ok, so when do you want to do this?"

"As soon as Det and Laugh wakes up. We expect Laugh to be waking up after we take her off the pain medication and Det will wake up in the next couple of days."

"Yeah, but do I have to be a part of it, I have a lot of work to do?" Val glared at the lieutenant "Alright, fine. But you are the one organizing it." he said and shuffled through some papers. "Any chance you can bring me some tea?"

Val smiled and stood up, "I'll send someone up with it." She said as she flashed stepped away. Atticus sighed and started filling out the paper work he had gained from all the water damage in the training room. It wasn't five minutes later when an unseated officer appeared outside the throne room with his tea. He quickly thanked them and went back to work. Tea truly ways the light of his life, well, that and sleeping. But he wasn't allowed to sleep until he finished the curse of the devil himself, paperwork. Lunch came and went and he didn't even try leaving his office. He had even spent the night in there after they found out about Bounts from Naruto, and the lack of sleep and proper food was catching up to him. However, it was a couple more days before he could leave his office at a proper meal time.

He wandered down the hall until he made his way to the cloud of people. "Ah, At! Nice to see you've finally joined us!" Amulet called, her short black hair was styled similar to the Kuchiki girls. Atticus couldn't help but stair, how could you handle that single clump of hair in your face all the time? "Oh, you like it?" she laughed "I was looking through some old photos of the noble clans with Soul and I decided I liked the look."

"It doesn't suit you." He said bluntly and went to get food. "Hey Tenchi." He said as he stood in line.

"See you've finally come out of hiding?" he laughed, adjusting his glasses. They were covered in dirt and spots to the point where you could barely see his mossy green eyes. "Any reason why?" he asked as he filled his plate with a mountain of food.

"Did Valerie tell you about the team?" he asked, only taking a bowl of rice and some fish. Tenchi nodded, his sandy blond hair bouncing up and down. "Tonight's the night they can finally all join us for a meal. Figured it would be nice if we were all together for the first time since they've left. Plus, I need food."

"I don't know how you manage to skip so many meals." He laughed as they picked up their trays and headed towards their tables. "But yeah, that makes tonight the meeting right? Outside by the tree?"

Atticus shrugged "Probably." He said and sat down next to Daphne who was eating another large portion of food. "Am I the only one who eats normally around here?" he asked, looking over at Soul who was eating waffle. "Are those my waffles?" Soul quickly shook their head, stuffing another bite into their mouth. "Soul." He growled.

"Oh lighten up At!" Mercury said from the other end of the table "We're having group therapy tonight so we need to be on our best behavior."

"I don't think its therapy." Tom said as he sat down. His blond hair had some suspicious red spots in.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sound very Russian?" Mu asked, trying pick up rice even though her hand was shaking worse than normal.

"He's just tall, blunt, and has blond hair." Mr. DB commented, drinking out his flask. Where he kept getting the alcohol from was anyone's guess.

The group continued to laugh and joke until Neo and Jim entered the hall "Neo!" Mu yelled, jumping out of her seat to greet them. "So Jim, where are the others?" she asked.

"Wan and Val are helping them up here. Det's in a wheelchair, and well, stairs." Jim said, helping Neo sit down and getting food for the both. The conversation around the table was pretty light all things considered, it mostly revolved around comparing hobbies and taste in music of the people around the table.

Soon the missing four joined them, Det placed at the head of the table, and they all ate in relative peace, if you considered absolute chaos peaceful since a fight broke out over Rock and Jazz. By the time they had finished eating however, the volume of the hall had dropped considerably since most of the unseated officers had left already. "Well," Atticus said "Do you think it's time for us to head outside?"

"Yeah," Amulet said, swinging her legs so she could get out. "Can't say I'm looking forward to this but it's something that must be done." She, and the other 19 people, slowly left the hall and headed out to the dark field.

The sun had set while they ate so the only thing lighting them to the hill with the tree on it was the full moon and the string lights that had been set up in the branches of the trees. "Did you do that?" Atticus asked Soul, who nodded "I like it." The group soon reached the top of the hill and settled down. "Ok, Val, this was your idea so you explain it."

Val sent a look towards Atticus and stood up. "So the reason why we are after this is to learn about each other, both past and present. If you want to go into detail you may, if you want to leave things as vague as possible, that's fine as well. Would anyone like to start?"

Naruto raised her hand "I feel like you guys deserve some answers so I might as well go first." She adjusted her position to make sure everyone could see her. "Well, as you've probably figured out by now I have some ability that don't come from my sword. You see, back when me and my younger brother were alive, we were a part of a group of people who are what I'm going to call ultimate free lancers. Everyone had a unique ability, mine family specialized in the mind. We were called in for jobs that involved stealth, information gathering, and infiltration. Not many people in my family are born with sight, I'm actually only the half-sister to Inoichi, we have different mothers. Inoichi can hear, or as he puts it, sees, thoughts. I on the other hand, can only look at memories. No one in my family can go on a job alone. My brother because he's blind, me because my ability makes me unconscious. And for the record, it can only be done if me and the 'donor' are awake. The day we died, me and my brother we sent out on our first mission alone together involving gathering information and killing our target. Our bodies were never found because were too deep into enemy territory. Our targets guards killed us."

"So you remember life and how you died?" Amulet asked.

"Yeah, I was talking to some unseated officers and apparently it's pretty common around here. Oh, and my sword is color based that can manipulate elements. What about you Am? Do you remember your human life?"

"No. I know my job somehow involved stealth but no details." She looked at the Lieutenant, who motioned her to go on. "Really, I don't have anything else to say?"

"Then tell us about your Zanpaktou."

"Invisibility, mist that can absorb reishi, at the academy I was called a ghost because of intangibility. And um, I came here right after graduation from the academy, I didn't even enter a squad." She said and motioned for Soul to go.

"Me?" they asked. "Alright, um, are we doing backstory?"

"I guess." Amulet shrugged.

"Well, I didn't have a human life. I mean, I guess I did, but I was a miscarriage so that's not really a life. My soul was brought directly into the soul society and I as born into a wealthy but not noble family. I left for the academy after I got into a fight with my parents and was entered into the contest before I even graduated."

"Wow," Atticus breathed "I've never heard you talk so much before." He laughed. Even when he couldn't make it out side for a meal under the tree, he had always managed to run into Soul a least once a day. It was hard getting more than a sentence from them so this was considered a lot for the gender neutral Shinigami.

"What was your fight about?" Mercury questioned.

"Oh, um, well you see, I'm slightly bipolar."

"Say no more, group therapy doesn't have to involve metal problems."

"I don't think this is therapy." Soul mumbled.

"Yeah, whatever. What about you Tenchi, since we seem to be going in order."

Tenchi looked up from his bowl of rice that he had taken from the dining hall. "Me?" he placed down the bowl and adjusted his blond hair. "Well, my human life was pretty boring, died while I was in college, don't know he details of how it happened but I remember that my friends blamed themselves. Went to my funeral and then passed on. I hung out in the Rukongai for a couple hundred years before joining the academy." He smiled at the memory. "My Zanpaktous release form is a metal road with a handle attached to a shield so I've never been focused so much on normal attack strategy in typical Japanese fashion. It works around kinetic force so I need to be more un close and personal then most fighting styles would allow."

Atticus nodded at that and motioned for Jim to go. He told the same story he told to Val about his religion and family, and he told them about he died while on the job. He quickly added in some facts about his Zanpaktou and how it helps increase the range of his attacks and can create balls of reishi if he sent some back and forth between himself and the sword, and how his Bankai was pretty much the same thing but amplified. As soon as it was clear that Jim was done Mercury started talking "Well, I don't remember anything from my human life accept that my dad was a warrior and my mother was the daughter of a man who studied astronomy!" he proudly proclaimed "They were Roman!"

"Then how did you end up speaking Japanese?"

"That's the part I don't know." He shrugged and continued on describing the immense fire power that his Zanpaktou gave him, that if it touched something for more than five seconds it would put a hole in it. Atticus quickly pointed out that different melting points would affect the time but Mercury didn't even acknowledge that he was talking. He went on to say that this great power came at a terrible cost because he could not touch the blade until the fight was over in fear of burring himself. He even started talking about his Bankai and how his sword became flaming rings that he can turn the flames into sweat javelins. He even started describing the black glove he gained but Daphne hit him with her knee to tell him to shut up. Mercury wanted to say more but decided not to, best not to push it with the look she was giving him.

Once Daphne knew the idiot was done bragging she began. "My human family were farmers back when Texas was trying to become a part of America. We lived near the border so my mother was worried that I would be involved in the conflict after my fathers and brothers died so she sent me to live with her cousins who had just moved to Italy. I was kidnapped before I got there and taken to Japan. The thing was, even when I was kidnapped, death still seemed to follow me. The men who had taken me ended up just dumping me on the streets where I later died."

"Well that's depressing." Mercury said, leaning back onto the grass.

"And my Zanpaktou reflect that." Daphne replied with a straight face. "My Shikai are literal scythes connected by a chain. My class mates called me a true reaper before I was pushed into waiting for a squad to pick me up and instead found myself a castle." She laughed.

"So you where the one I kept hearing about." Tom said. A couple of the other members looked at him funny so he explained "It sounds like some of you didn't have this problem but after I graduated from the academy no squad would take me so I ended up changing squads from week to week and I kept hearing about this girl who apparently was Daphne."

"Ok, but how bad do you have to be for not even the 11th squad to want you?" Amulet asked.

"My Zanpaktou increased blood loss, however after the release it's only the size of a meat cleaver and drains my energy throughout its use."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Well it's the only answer I got for you." He said, piking at the white of his uniform that was no longer white. "Does anyone know how to get blood stains out of clothes?"

"Rinse with cold water, presoaked in cold water with laundry detergent for 30 minutes, and repeat until stain disappears and then wash with regular clothes." Naruto said as she tried to steal some of Tenchis' rice.

"Really, I've always just scrubbed with a bar of soap until gone." Mu commented. "Oh well, my turn?" she asked "Well, I was struck by lightning. So that's my backstory. I was studying English history and culture at the time. My Zanpaktou looks like a gold claymore in Shikai and a gold knights armor in Bankai. I can't use my Shikai's ability which involved lightning more than three times without having to go see a medic because the electricity hurts me to, and my Bankai can only work for a short amount of time, so I don't like using it." she finished.

Val quickly took her turn explaining her knowledge of her human life and how she got her name, followed by a quick summery of her two ability. She had another defensive one but she hadn't properly learned it yet so she didn't mention it. She then turned to Mr. DB who had just been staring off into space ever since they got there. "It's your turn." She said. "Do you remember your human life?"

"Sweetie, I didn't remember by human life back when I was human." He laughed and looked up at the tree "I know I had a sister named Hope that I took care of but she was pretty independent so I didn't see her that often." He shifted his gaze over to the others. "My Shikai is a sword and shield connected by a cord, its kind of similar to Tenchi, absorbing and storing reishi." He shrugged, unconsciously flexing his muscles as well.

The group of people turned to Det next, waiting for him to go. Det adjusted his position in his wheelchair "I was a musician back when I was alive. It was the edo period in Japan so you can say that I'm pretty old." He laughed, though he looked no older than 20. "I've been back to the human world a couple of times, longest term mission while waiting for a squad. My Shikai turns into a tuning fork that causes high frequency sound that make illusions. As you can probably tell," he gave a small chuckle "it has some side effects that involve being paralyzed." He motioned to his legs. "My Bankai involves a giant Bell and two golems."

"What about you Raven? I don't think I've heard you talk yet." Wan asked.

Raven looked up and motioned to her swords "They can manipulate shadows." She said "And in Bankai its more powerful."

"I didn't know she could talk." Mercury whispered. "Human life, any idea?" she shook her head.

"My turn!" Sky said "Back when I was alive I was born into a noble family and when I died I stayed in the Rukongai for a while, I got into district three so I didn't feel like moving. One day I was attacked by a hollow and decided to join the academy. My Zanpaktou involves hand to hand combat. I loss my sword in Shikai but as a last resort I can summon a blade from my wrist or ankle. But let's just say that's a really bad idea to do that." He tried to pass it off with a chuckle but it was clear that it wasn't something to laugh at.

Wan looked over at his roommate "Well unlike you I have no idea on how I died or even how I lived. I woke up in the forest and wondered until I saw the academy. It was registration day so I just kind of ended up joining. I didn't even know about the Rukongai until some kids started asking me what district I was from." He smiled "I have a kido sword. It can extend the length and sharpen the blade as well as make a small barrier. But that's about it. I can't even achieve Bankai until I learn to control my emotions. And my Zanpaktou spirits don't want me to."

It was Enzis turn next, he stretched out his long legs and leaned back. "I died fairly recently, but I'm still old enough to not remember much. I know it was a plane crash that killed me, that I was a spy for the government. I stuck around along enough as a spirit to find out that the plane had been sabotaged by a foreign government who knew a spy was on the plane but didn't know who it was. They killed 107 innocent people that day just to get to me. That though alone was almost enough to make me turn into a hollow. Luckily a soul reaper had caught wind of the crash and helped all the souls pass on." He sighed "It took me a while but I finally joined the academy where I was given a sword, over time the blade slowly became more and more translucent and intangible." He pulled his sword out and swung it at his out stretched hand, only for it to go right through. "It's lightning kido type and increases my speed. I don't have a Bankai yet but I'm getting there." He smiled. "What about you Rensa. What's a native American doing in a Japanese society?"

"My mother and I were brought over to Japan back when I was a child." He said simply. "I remember every detail but I don't think you deserve to know all that." He didn't smile and continued to star off into space. "My Shikai is shaped like an ax and can infuse kido into the blade. Some of you already know about how my Bankai but it gives me a feathered headdress and wings." He motioned to his uniform "That's why no back."

Neo nodded and turned to face the crowd "I was a son of a pirate and died by drowning. My Zanpaktou is a scimitar and can summon lightning. That's about it." he shrugged. "Laugh?"

"Daughter of an emperor." She smiled "I was killed by a group of Rogues but my guards killed them before they escaped."

"Rogues?" Mercury asked.

"It's what we called people who were against us. I stayed as a Soul for a very long time after that until a Reaper finally came along and found me. All my family had died by then so I had no reason to stay." Laugh unhocked her swords and placed them on her lap "With my sword I can create black water walls and mirrors. Tsuki, my spirit, doesn't like me talking about it but the black water is very, um, effective." She rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged "Well Atticus, you're the only reason why were still here. Tell us your story."

"I was a secretary." He shrugged "But the company I worked had some less then legal habits. The boss liked me the best out of all the other secretaries who preferred to gossip over doing their jobs so I became his personal assistant and was later killed because of it."

"And your Zanpaktou?" Val asked.

"Conflict based. In Shikai I have two swords connected by chain, when they are connected the white sword controls fire and the black, water. When the chain is broken its shadows and light. My Bankai is very similar to Captains' Shikai." He drew on the ground a picture of a sword with three spike like blades coming out of the top. He then drew a circle above the picture. "A black sphere will appear at the top of the blade and can be thrown or stabbed and it'll explode when I tell it to. If I pull the sphere around me, it becomes like a dream." He smeared the drawing and stood up. "Well this was very educational and rather boring. Shall we all go to bed now?"

"Actually," Sky began "Rensa, Enzi, Wan, Raven, Val, Tom, and I were planning on having a race across the castle."

"Really." Daphne stated "Didn't you already do that the first night? Why again?"

"Because it's fun." Tom said and walked away, followed by the others.

"I'll join you in a minute, I just need to get Det up to his room. There are stairs so it's going to take a while." Val said, going to go help with the wheel chair.

"I can do that." Mu said stepping up to Det "You've done enough." Val nodded and ran to catch up with the rest of the group, Neo and Laugh quickly taking her place beside Mu and joined the tail of the squad. It was an awkward silence that followed them to the castle "So," Mu said "You were a pirate."

Neo looked up at the girl "No, the son of a pirate. I didn't go around stealing things on boats. I stayed with my mother in a bar for all of my childhood."

"You grew up in a bar." Mu chuckled along with Det and Laugh "I bet you're a hit at parties."

"I'm actually not a big fan of parties but I would go if I was asked." He said "What about you Det? Opinion of parties?"

"As long as there's good music I'm gain." He smiled. They were getting pretty far behind the rest and Laugh motioned for them to go faster, but Neo shook his head. The two continued to have a silent argument using hand signs and glares "Geez you guys, get a room."

"We already have one." Neo laughed. "That's why we used the third bed's sheets as a curtain."

"What about the bathroom?"

"There's a lock on the door." Laugh shrugged.

They walked a little bit farther until they were just at the foot of the castle "Hey Laugh, I know it's not something I should be asking but how did you manage to get third seat? I mean, judging by what you said you're not that powerful and your abilities are rather limited."

"Just because I worked with the contest doesn't mean I cheated. My entry was reviewed by King along with every other person who helped out. I told you, the black water is effective. I just have to use it in the right way."

"I didn't mean it that way!" Mu rushed. "I mean, kind of but not really."

"Its fine, you're not the first person who's brought up my rank." She smiled. The two boys looked over at her but remained quiet. Once they got inside the castle and reached the stairs, the two third seats grabbed the sides of the wheel chair and lifted it up. They almost fell a few times but managed to get up to the bed hall without injury.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said." Mu mumbled "I wasn't trying to accuse you or anything."

"Just drop it." she smiled and took the handles of the wheel chair from her. "We can take it from here." The three entered Dets' room, leaving Mu out in the hall. "Val told us that we weren't allowed to leave you alone so we'll be staying here until your roommates come back."

Det nodded and the two helped him into his bed. He had come to dinner lacking his normal uniform and sporting sweats instead, so there was no need for him to change. Neo went into the bathroom and threw a tooth brush and tooth paste on top of Det. "These aren't mine." He said.

"Then which one is?" he asked.

"The green one." The green toothbrush was thrown at his head. "Thanks." Laugh went to get a glass of water for him. The three stayed in the room until the runners came back and everyone went to their rooms.

As the pair of third seats got ready for bed Laugh called across the curtain "Hey Neo."

"Yes?"

"Did Naruto tell you what happened during the mission?" There was no response for a moment "Neo?" she picked behind the side of the curtain and saw her partner frozen there "Neo, what's wrong?"

"I just don't get it." he flopped down onto his bed "Naruto say my memories but all we were told is that Bounts attacked us and our powers didn't mix well together. We were gone for a long time, what happened that they aren't telling us?"


	5. Does anyone have any idea anymore

**Chapter 5 Does anyone have any idea what's going on anymore**

Training. It was one of the few things that was universal among all Shinigami. And Wan hated it. He didn't like fighting to begin with, it just made him feel so barbaric and confused. That was mostly his Zanpaktou fault, but by extent his. He never really knew where he stood on the whole fighting thing, when he was mad, he had no problem ripping someone's throat out, but he also hated violence. He knew why he had to do it, but that didn't mean he wanted to. Training for him was mostly meditation and learning to control his emotions, which wasn't so bad until you consider the fact that when a Shinigami meditates they go into their inner world, and Wans' inner world wasn't very, relaxing, per say. It had a surreal felling to it, a creepy surreal.

As soon as he entered his dingy world his socks were completely soaked in swamp water. He was half temped to wave his hand around to try and clear up the fog but knew from previous attempts that it would be useless. His inner world was always covered in fog and smelling like dead fish. The longer you spend in it, the more you got used to it. But Wan didn't like spending much time in it so at most his eyes adjusted enough for him to not run into trees.

He only had to walk a couple of minutes until he saw what he was here for. Two figures were sitting on some low hanging branches of two separate trees. The one on Wans right had harsh yellow hair, eyes, and suit. And the one on his left was the same but neo blue. The two were almost symmetrical to each other, the blue and his hair covering his left eye, the yellow, right. They both had a long chain necklace with a triangle on the end. Similar the necklaces Wan had under his shirt but instead of his silver, theirs were gold.

"Oh, so the boss man had finally come home." The yellow one said "What do you think Ao? Has he finally decided he's done serving that dumb ass King?"

"Don't be so mean Ki, he's obviosity here for our help. At least he's out of that Academy now and back into the human world." Ao said, leaning forward to the point where it looked like he was about to fall of his branch branch. "So what do you need?" He asked. It wasn't often that their boss came to visit. This wasn't a place one could come to relax.

"Training." He said seriously "In any way you can give me."

Ki let an evil smile come across his face and slid off his branch "If you want to fight then we can fight. But you know the consequences of that." He laughed, his voice had a double edge to it like he was talking into an echo microphone, it was rather upsetting to the ear. Ao's voice had a similar effect to it but it was much harder to detect.

Wan nodded and pulled out his black katana but didn't release it. He charged up his spiritual pressure and ran straight at the yellow copy. Ki mimicked this and they met in the middle with a loud clash. Ao watch from above with a sad look on his face, his hair cast a shadow over his eyes and a single tear roll down his pale skin. He could feel the chairs around him and the third tighten. If Wan wanted to get stronger, he would first have to be weaker.

Outside Wans' room, Raven shuddered at the sudden increase in the reishi in the air. She knew that each room had built in muffler. It worked similar to a sound proof room. You weren't supposed to be able to feel someone's reishi if they were in their room. What the hell was Wan doing in there to cause that much spiritual pressure to leak through the barrier. The reishi felt so high strung and filled with raw power.

Suddenly Tom burst through the door and into the hall. "What's going on!" he yelled. Raven pointed to the closed door and Tom ran up to it and tried to open it but it was locked. "God dame it!" he yelled and violently knocked on the door. "Open up!" He stared to run into the door using his shoulder to try and knocked it open. He stumbled into the room and say Wan just sitting on his bed. "Oh. He's just sitting there." He said dumbly.

Raven walked in and set her umbrella down, the air felt sick and heavy, making it hard to take a breath without chocking. She was about to leave so she could breathe properly when she saw a cut appear in his forehead. Slowly she went up to him and touched the dripping blood. "He's training." She muttered.

"What?"

She pulled out a small cloth and pressed it against his head. "He's training. With his spirits." She pointed to the position he was in and the placement of his sword on his lap. It was something that they were all taught but she never really used it.

"I thought he was against the whole violence thing." Tom commented. He had made fun of the higher seated male a few times because of this but it was all in good heart. Wan had mentioned several times that he didn't like training and refused to fight him.

"He's training for what's ahead."

"You make it sound so serious."

"That's because it is." She looked up at the most violent member of the squad. "I head Atticus and King talking. Atticus has started looking in to the missions, and every mission that has come to us is about Bounts."

"You mean that's all their sending us?" Raven nodded and motioned for the them to go back into the hall, picking up her umbrella on the way. He looked at the broken lock and hinges on the door and shrugged, he should probably tell someone to fix that later. "So what else did you hear, oh miss ninja vampire?"

Raven shot him a look but didn't correct him. "Kings upset."

"I would be to." He snorted and tried to close the door but just ended up propping it up awkwardly against the frame. "So, shall we go tell the others?"

"No, there will be a meeting." She said and looked back into the room. "Besides, everyone is already busy training. I went to the library this morning and there is no more books on Bounts." She smiled and nodded towards the door.

Wan jumped up to avoid another swing from Ki. The cut on his head was bleeding rather heavily but it was the only injury he had right now outside of the many bruises he had likely obtained by the constant punches. He smashed into another tree and tumbled into the dirty water. He staggered up and tied to get his barring, and tried to figure out which of the three yellow copies coming at him was the real one. He tried to dodge but ended up getting punch again and landed by a tree with a body chained to it. "Face it boss! Its either my power of his!" Ki yelled, advancing slowly. The sword in his hand was dripping in swamp water making the metal shine.

Wan tried to get to his feet but ended up dropping his sword into the water. "Oh no." he said and dove into the water. One of the odd thing about his inner world is that when you're standing, the water only goes up to a little above your ankle, but if you dive under it becomes an ocean. He quickly spotted the glint of the sword tangled in the roots of a tree and tried to dislodge it. The blade was stuck, completely stuck. He heard a splash and turned around, only to see Ki Swimming towards him with his yellow blade out stretched. Suddenly a hand shot into the water and pulled Wan back up to the surface. "Ao!"

"Training is over." He said "Your friends are waiting for you outside." Ki quickly reemerged and pulled himself into a sitting position on the water. "And Ki, we need to have a talk." Ki shot him a look but didn't say anything.

Wan closed and then opened his eyes to see his room. He sighed when he saw the state of his door and got up to see who was outside. "Raven?"

Raven smiled and gave a shrug towards Tom who looked over at him "I thought there was a fight going on." He said.

"So you broke down my door?" Wan sighed, clearly irritated.

"You said you didn't like fighting."

"That doesn't mean I don't know how!" He yelled.

"Whoa, calm down there. I was only looking out for you." Tom held his hands up "Why are you acting so hostile?"

"Just leave me alone. Ok." he said and stocked away.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Tom asked, looking over to Raven who shrugged. "Should we follow?"

Raven shook her head "No. He was training in his soul. This is a side effect."

"Why do you think that?"

"His soul is split; he was training one side. It would make anyone angry."

He made a noise of understanding even though he really didn't. "So what do you want to do now?" She didn't give him a response and instead just started walking. Tom, having nothing better to do, followed. "You know; you talk more when you're around me." She didn't say anything and continued to take him out of the hall and down a flight of stairs that he hadn't noticed before. It was tucked behind a pillar of sorts and the color was similar to the stone wall that surrounded it. Raven open the door and went up the stairs. Tom had never gone higher than the bed hall floor so he had no idea what was up there. Apparently it was the top of the castle. "I thought you didn't like sun light." He commented.

"If you want to train, you got to push." She shrugged and placed her umbrella by the door. "I'm weak in the light, so I have to learn to deal with it."

"So I guess the rumors of you being a vampire are true." He laughed. Raven just smiled and drew a sword. "You want to fight me?"

"No." she held out her sword and whispered "Vanish, Ankoku." Her sword turned into black flames and she pointed it towards Tom's shadow. "Kage no sakusei" the shadow slowly darkened and began to rise up from the ground and form into the shape of Tom. "I want you to fight that."

"You're insane." He chuckled and drew his sword. "I like it." He didn't bother releasing his Shikai, a shadow doesn't bleed so what would be the point. The thing was fast, staying close to him and going for every opening it could find. It slashed up as his shoulder but Tom managed to roll out of the way and press himself against a wall. "The hell man. How are you doing this?" he asked, moving to attack.

"It's called shadow creation. I've created something for you to fight against."

"You've created a sentient being from my shadow?" he yelled, seemed a little OP compared to his ability.

"It's not alive. I'm controlling it." Tom continued to fight for a few minutes until he tripped on one of the upturned stones and stumbled back. The shadow was about to land a lethal blow when it suddenly disappeared and his shadow returned to its normal position. Tom looked at Raven to notice she was sweating and looks very tired.

"Did you just try to kill me?" he asked.

"The shadows can't do much damage to their owner." She laughed and helped him to his feet. "But it does hurt."

"So did you mean to get rid of it?"

"No, you moved so the sunlight hit it. I didn't have enough energy to keep it stable."

"OP ability has major weakness." He commented before picking up his sword and stabling himself for another attack. The two continued this training process until it was time for dinner. Wan on the other hand, had spent the time trying to calm himself down.

He had originally planned on going to the library but felt like he would run into too many people so instead he found himself in the garden. There was some people wandering around but the garden was so large that it wasn't a problem finding a quiet spot by a corner wall. He could still feel the effect of his training coursing through his blood. Ki always loved leaving a side effect, a fact that Wan had become more and more aware of ever since he had discovered his swords name. Ki and Ao were nicknames for the same Zanpaktou, but with the split personality's it was easier to give them separate names. He had named them before he had learned their real names and he was glad he did otherwise it would have gotten really confusing really fast. Ki was his aggression, his want, and rage. Ao on the other hand, was harder to define. He was closer to protection but that wasn't quite right. For some reason he trusted Ki more than he did Ao. As insane was that seamed.

Wan sighed, why did he only think of these things when he was like this? He lifted up his head and looked around the garden, from his spot he could see a version of King sitting in a tree but he wasn't able to tell which one it was. If he looked over towards one of the entrances he could see Sky trying to make his way through the vegetation but he didn't seem to be making much progress. Some other people were moving around but the garden was kind of hard to get into and navigate around so not many people felt the need to enter it. Most of the garden could be seen from the windows anyway, but it just wasn't the same.

He stayed there a little bit longer, not really knowing what to do, until he heard his stomach growl. In the soul society, hunger was a sigh of high spiritual presser, and training caused an increase of hunger since you depleted your supply. He probably should apologies to Raven and Tom while he was there.

He made his way back up the stairs and down the halls and into the dining hall. He sat down next to Mu and talked to her until Raven and Tom walked in. They ended up sitting next to them and the four had a nice conversation about their academy days before heading down stairs to the training room. "This looks like old basketball court." Mu commented. Tom gave her a questioning look and she quickly explained what basketball was.

"Yeah, whatever, so who want to fight me?" he said, cutting her off. He looked around to see who would put up a worth wild fight old to have a hot blade pressed against his neck. "Oh, so sparky wants to play does she?" He pulled out his blade and jumped to attack.

Wan and Raven moved over to the view room that was built along the side of the training room. The built proof glass was lightly tinted so it looked like they were looking through sunglasses. "Who do you think would win?" Wan asked, leaning his elbow against the rim of the window.

"Mu if no Shikai. Tom if." She said, plopping herself down in a cushioned chair. Wan watch them, studying their fighting style. Neither seemed eager to release their Shikai, probably to keep the fight going as long as posable. He decided it wasn't worth standing and sat down next to the purple hair girl.

It was weird, calmly watching two people trying to kill each other. He had seen other people in the academy train, but this was on a different level.

A few people from the squad stopped by wile the two were fighting to see if the room was being used, it seemed like everyone wanted to train.

Wan looked up when he heard a small chime of bells and saw a hell butterfly fluttering through an open air vent. "I didn't know we had those." He muttered. Reaching up he let the butterfly give its message before passing it on the Raven and the two in the training room. A meeting was to be held in a few minutes and everyone was expected to be there. Mu and Tom sheaved their swords and headed into the hall, not even out of breath.

"You were right." Tom whispered to Raven "Let's see how fun this will be."

"Your fun is our disaster." Wan commented, getting a smile out of the blond. They walked in silence until they reached the door. "Ladies first." He said, letting Raven and Mu in.

They settled down in their seats alongside the rest of their squad and waited for their captain. There was some small conversation around the table, most on who had the books on bounts and who would get them next. They waited for the King to arrive, however the epic chair remained empty. "I'm glad we're all here." Atticus said, entering from his office "Shall we start the meeting?" He hit a button on the side of the table to start the blue screen of animation. "Now I'm sure you've all done some research on the bounts already."

"I haven't!" Mercury yelled.

"Technically speaking the bounts are classified as a group of humans, similar to the Quincy they have unique combat ability." He said, ignoring the red head and showing pictures of a human figure. "As I'm sure you're already aware, these sub-humans were an accidental creation of the soul society. There are only a few tribes left however they have been making themselves more powerful as of late. In terms of life span they are immortal."

"That's until someone comes along and kills them." Tenchi commented.

Atticus once again ignored the others "Like any human they are weak to hollow, however they can protect themselves with their Dolls. A Doll is to them what a Zanpaktou is to us. Their ability to control the doll is largely based on their relationship with it. They can lose control of the Doll if either of them obtain too much damage."

"It's not control." Raven said. Many around the table turned to look at her but she didn't pay attention to them. "It's asking it to do something. They have a choice on whether they listen or not."

"Right." He said, dragging out the word "Anyways, the Doll can also be returned to its sealed state if this happens. Most Dolls are sealed in a common object like a water bottle cap or an ear ring A Doll can also kill the Bount if they are too weak. But if their relationship is strong enough then the Doll may fuse with them."

No one said anything for a moment "Is that it?" Daphne asked. "You basically just recited _White Search._ "

"That's what you needed to know for the missions."

"You're sending us on a mission already?" Val almost yelled. Clearly she didn't think it was a very good idea.

"This is what you were sent here to do. This place isn't a resort; you were sent here to fight."

"But we're not ready."

"Then get ready." He said. "There's a recording of the last encounter with Bounts in the movie room, it's not complete but it should give you a feel for what we're dealing with. It is advised that when you are assigned your mission that you go with at least a group of three. I will leave the available missions here, and you are free to look over them as you wish but it will be a few more days until you will be allowed to leave the castle grounds again." He placed the files on the table. "I assume that you three will continue working together?" He asked Laugh, Neo, and Det.

Laugh smiled and nodded "You can't break us up now."

Atticus sighed and went back into his office, presumable to do more paperwork. It never did end for him did it? Neo looked over at Det "You are ok with that aren't you?" he was out of the wheel chair and only and a small cane to help with a sprained ankle.

"I don't see what else I would do." He shrugged and picked up a mission file.

The group of 19 started talking, most complaining about the fact that they couldn't leave the castle even though they hadn't left the grounds since they got their position. "So," Tom said, approaching Wan "Would you like to join our team?"

"'Our'?"

"Me and Raven."

"It's Raven and I." he corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. You in?" Wan looked up at the creepy black eyes "Come on, you're the sixth seat, Ravens 8, and I'm the lucky 13."

"Your saying you need me?"

"I'm not asking anyone else am I?"

Wan smiled and they shook on it. It was a weird thought being on a team with the guy who was refused by the 11th squad and a supposed vampire, but there's been weirder things so he couldn't complain. He looked up at Raven who was going through the mission files. "Aren't you going to check what's she's grabbing?"

"No, she knows more then she lets on so I bet she'll pick the right one for us."

"Listen, I'm sorry for this morning." He muttered.

"It's cool. Raven told me you're training has side effects. I respect that your willing to put yourself in harm's way for battle." Wan was about to correct him when Raven came back with three files in hand. "These what you picked?" she nodded and they each took one. Wans' was about going to see a new patch of recent incidents involved anything supernatural. Tom's was about going to see if the sudden decrease in souls in a town indicated corrupted work. And Ravens' leaned more towards a battles situation. None of them flat out said there were bounts in the area but there were no references to hollows. "You see; this is why I don't trust the soul society." He said as he slapped the papers.

Wan closed his folder and headed towards the door. The two others shrugged and followed him out and to the library. It wasn't as busy as it was earlier but it was hard trying to find an empty table that no one would bother them at. Later other groups showed up with their folders and the unseated officers slowly left. Wan looked around and saw how people had picked each other out. The table next to them had Soul, Amulet, Jim, and Naruto. And the table behind them was Sky, Rensa, Enzi, and Mercury. He could see how those team would work out. Perhaps a bit chaotic but they would get the job done.

The three discussed their options on battle options and code names for different combinations. Tom was very adamant that he takes the job of being the one who's up close and personal to the bounts. Raven and Wan were cool with the idea and soon went to bed.

Well, Wan and Tom did. Raven went up to the top of the castle.


	6. I wouldn't really call it a battle

**Chapter 6 I wouldn't really call it a battle**

Tenchi and Soul were surprisingly good friends. Sure Soul didn't talk much and spent his mornings with the vice-captain and evenings with the two girls, but Tenchi spent his afternoons with them. They trained together, well, as much as their power would allow. And as much as Tenchi could handle. Soul got very violent when it came to battle, and his mist was one of the worst thing Tenchi has ever felt in his life. The thing had only touched him for a millisecond but it was enough for him to be sent to the medic hall. Soul had apologies with tears in their eyes and refused to fight for a while after that.

Their powers didn't work well together; the mist had proven that much. So it was no surprise that they didn't end up teaming up together. That didn't mean he wasn't at least a little bit hurt about it. Tenchis' team consisted of Mu and Mr. DB.

Mr. DB was a strange man. He was tall and muscular and is never seen without his flask. He cared little for the people around him but at the same time didn't seem like the type to leave a man behind.

Mu was, unique to say the least. She was laud and cocky but at the same time was very group orientated. He didn't really know much about her outside of the fact that she was either smiling or glaring at someone.

Tenchi looked across the kido training field and saw Daphne. She was the only one who had yet to join a team, outside of Val and Atticus who wouldn't be joining a team. Daphne seemed like she wanted to join Ravens team but for some reason she didn't ask. Tenchi was thinking of asking her to join his but they already had four people. But then again, DB probably wasn't going to be doing anything during most of the mission so they might need another hand. "Hey Daphne." He said, approaching her slowly so not to scare her.

"Morning Tenchi." She said as she sent off a rather odd looking kido. At her feat was a black book. He reached down to look at it but she stopped him by placing her foot on top of it. "Don't touch that."

"Why?"

"It's a book I found in the library. It's filled with handmade and forbidden Kido."

Tenchi retracted his arm and stood up. "I was wondering if you wanted to join my team?" he said, focusing on the reason he approached her.

Daphne paused in her practice. It took her a few seconds but eventually she lowered her arm. "Sure." She said picking up her book. "Have you picked a mission yet?"

"Uh yeah. Mu is doing research on it now but once she gets it cleared by Atticus tonight we can leave." The two started walking out of the training arena. "We'll be the first group to leave. Naruto's team will be leaving a few days after us if they get cleared. The mission is squealed to last a weak and we'll be staying at a hotel so pack for that."

"Will we be given a gigai?" Tenchi nodded "Well I guess that covers everything." She said and turned to leave.

"Oh, can I borrow that book?" he asked. She looked down at her book, not sure if she wanted to hand it over "I just want a look." She slowly held up the book. "Thanks." He said, snatching it from her hands.

"I thought you didn't trust forbidden Kido." She said. Sure he loved a good joke but was always carful no one got hurt in the process. Physically or emotionally.

"I don't, that's why I want to look." He said before walking off. There was a quiet place off in the corner of one of the empty halls, why they had empty halls he had no idea, and it was one of the few places he could go to be in peace. He stayed there reading his book until the he noticed something out of the cornier of his eye. Even though it was dark outside, he could still make out a group of figures running across the field. No doubt the running team trying to see who's the fastest both in and out of flash step. He turned back to his book and found that the page had changed. It explained how to create a personalized kido and what to avoid so it doesn't become forbidden. The process was incredible complex but at the same time, amazingly simple. There was some sticky note folded up along the edge of the page, probably from Daphne judging by how human they were. He didn't mean to read them, he was just trying to move them to see what was underneath, but they kind of just open up when he touched them.

It didn't take long for him to reach the mostly empty dining hall and slide alongside the rest of his new team. He looked across from him at the papers that were sitting beside Mu. They had a big red approval stamp on them meaning they would be leaving in a few hours. The four had already packed days in advance, and no doubt Daphne had already done her part. He was late enough that they had already finished eating and were discussing battle plans. "You guys ready to head out?" he asked, sliding the book back to the girl.

"Yeah, just waiting for you." Jim said, licking his ice cream. Tenchi made a noise in response and quickly ate a bowl of cheddar soup. As soon as he set the spoon down the group stood up and headed for the castle door.

There was a group of seated and unseated officers there to see them off as they left the castle in gigai. There were no words passed in between the team as they said goodbye to the others and flash stepped through the darkness. It wasn't until they reached their destination, a battered hotel in an old town that took about four hours to get to, that they spoke. "Is this it?" Mr. DB asked. They stood in two separate rooms but had the connecting door open so they could talk.

"Yeah, better get use to it." Tenchi said as he opened his suit case and started unpacking some human clothes. "We'll be staying here for a while posing as a family."

"Some jacked up family we are." Daphne snorted. "Maybe Mu and DB because of their eye color. But I'm Latino."

"A family friend then." Daphne just shook her head and unpacked her soul candy. "Are you going to go out tonight?"

"Yeah, but I'm staying human." She said, pocketing the candy and walked out the door.

"Shouldn't one of us go with her?" Mu asked. When neither of the boys moved, her shoulders slumped and she set down her clothes to follow the girl. "Daphne, wait up!"

The two girls walked around all night, looking for anything that would be considered out of the ordinary. Eventually they ended up on the outskirts of town by the dump, Mu was balancing on some train tracks and watching the sun rise. "This is stupid." Daphne said, kicking a soda can.

"Yes it is."

Daphne swung around and Mu slipped off the tracks "Who are you?" She growled, she didn't sense a single drop of Reiatsu coming towards them so it caught her completely by surprise.

"Names Elizabeta." She smiled, her poisons green eyes glinted. "And I'm guessing you're those Souls Reapers friends. What, did you come here to get revenge?" neither of the reapers responded, only positioning their hands to be by the soul candy. "What, are you not going to tell me? Fine! Be that way!" she snapped and pulled the orange flower out of her long curly brown hair. "Serpenyő!" she called as the flower melted and turned into a dark looking sludge.

"The hell is this!" Mu yelled as she jumped back in the air and left her body. The sludge started tried to come after her only to pull back and reform itself into a semi human looking shape. Elizabeta said nothing and started charging at them, the sludge melting and rushing beside her.

Daphne pulled out her phone and called the rest of the team.

"Hello." A tired voiced answered. It was Mr. DB

"Train tracks! Now!" she yelled and hung up, just barely missing a slash from the sludge that had reshaped itself as a blade attached to the Bounts arm. As much as she would like to believe she could do this on her own, best not to risk it and die. Bounts were something that they knew just enough about to know to have back up on standby.

Back at the hotel Tenchi rolled over and poked his head out from under the cover. "Who was that?" he asked.

"The girls. They're in trouble." He said, snapping the phone shut and grabbing his Soul Candy. Tenchi was out of bed and out of his body before DB had even swallowed.

They were flash stepping at top speed but were stopped when a man dressed in a white long coat grabbed Tenchi and pulled him to the ground. "I can't let you do that boys." The man said, reaching up to the blue gem pendent that hung from his neck. "Geige." The gem glowed for a second and jutted out and would have hit Tenchi if Mr. DB had not bashed the Bount in the head with his Shikais' shield. The blue glow bounced off the ground and returned to the pendent.

Tenchi scrambled to his feet and drew his sword. "So you have a shield to." He said.

"Great for hitting things."

"I don't think that's the proper use for it."

"You know what they say, a great defense-"

"Makes a great offence." Tenchi finished. And looked over to the Bount "What do you want?" he said, careful not to let any emotion into his voice.

He chucked, "My names Rodrick."

"That wasn't what he asked." DB said.

"I'm here to protect my wife." Rodrick answered and let his doll attack again. It rushed forward, aiming straight for Tenchis' heart only for his to block it with his sword. Not taking any chances, he released his sword and pointed the shield towards DB.

Taking the hint, the Shinigami struck it with all his might to charge up the kinetic force and to redirect the excess force, roughly 60% of it, towards the Bount. Rodrick pulled out what looks like a conductors' wand and directed the Doll to take the blow before turning to run.

The two Shinigami tried to follow him but the Doll attacked them again. Stopping them form following the man in white.

Daphne unsheathe her sword but didn't release it, instead meeting the woman blow for blow. She was strong, but by no means an expert. Her battle style left many openings in her defense, and the soul reaper took full advantage of them. Clearly she had been in battles before but not against someone like her. The Sludge would move to try and act as a shield but would untimely weaken its sword form, letting Daphne go for another attack.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mu creeping up behind her. "Cry in anguish." She muttered, sliding her hand across the blade, turning it into a gold claymore. She swung it down, aiming for the head. Elizabeta didn't even look, having the sludge act on its own to block the blade. "What the-" Mu managed to get out before she was thrown across the tracks and hit a wall. She must have hit her head because she didn't get back up and her sword returned to its sealed state. Luckily, the swing wasn't a complete waste of energy.

"Ow!" the Bount cried. "That hurt you fucker!" she turned her back to face the unconscious Shinigami.

Daphne took it as an opportunity to release a kido "Hadō #63. Raikōhō!" she yelled, generating a yellow ball above her hand and launching it at the woman. It landed in the center of her back and exploded.

She screamed in pain, the back of her green jacket and black shirt getting burned off and severely injuring her back. The black sludge rushing to her aid and acting as a shield, stopping anymore attacks made by Daphne.

Suddenly a sphere of energy appeared out of nowhere and hit Elizabeta in the side of her leg. Her Doll had moved to try and stop the blow but it was too fast, cutting through her green pants and into her leg. Daphne took advantage of the opening the sludge left behind and took a swing with her sword. Unfortunately, Elizabeta managed to roll out of the way before she got hit. "Fuck." She muttered when Tenchi and DB flashed stepped into the battle and Mu began to stand up. Seeing that she was outnumbered, she quickly let her Bount come up around her and was absorbed into the ground.

After being given a moment to breath the group looked at each other. "What took you so long?" Daphne asked.

"Sorry, ran into a little road block."

The four didn't say anything as they headed back to the hotel, the girl reclaiming their gigais along the way. "So… define road block?" Mu said, trying to distract herself from her headache.

"A weak Bount showed up claiming he was trying to protect his wife before he ran away." Mr. DB said, adjusting his grip so Mu didn't fall off his back.

"Hey, DB."

"Yeah?"

"What's your real name?" This question stopped the man. Daphne and Tenchi turned to look at the two. "What? You really think that Mr. DB is his real name?"

"Val's real name is XV." Daphne said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but it stands for something. So what does it mean?"

Mr. DB didn't say anything for a moment, only walking forward. "Dragon." He muttered.

"What?"

"I said Dragon."

"So your name is Dragon and your sisters name is Hope." Tenchi said, or asked but didn't get a response. They continued to walk until they got to the hotel. There Tenchi picked up his phone and called Atticus.

In the other room, Mr. DB laid Mu down in her bed. They just kind of sat there for a while, not really knowing what to do. "So, Dragon-" she began.

"Don't call me that." He said.

"Why not? It's your name."

"Because I told you not to."

"Ok, so what do you want me to call you?"

"Same as everyone else." He said, pulling out his flask. "What?" he asked, seeing the look Mu was giving him. "I'm not going to give you any."

Mu rolled her eyes but nodded anyways, or as much as her headache would allow her. Tenchi stepped through the door that separated the two rooms "Good news, I- where's Daphne?"

"Bathroom." Daphne yelled through the door. "Go ahead, I can here you."

"Well I just got off the phone with Atticus and King" he began "and they told us that we have a choice. We can either stay here and track down a Bount or we can go back to the castle."

"Why would we go back?" Mr. DB asked.

"Technically speaking we finished our mission in finding out what has been consuming all the souls in this town."

" _That_ was our mission?"

"I thought you said you picked a good one?" Daphne asked, stepping out of the bathroom in her pajamas.

"I never said that."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Mu asked.

"You're going back to the castle." He said sharply.

"What! Why?"

"Look at your hand!" he yelled. Everyone turned their head to see that her hand was shacking, not the little shack that they had grown used to seeing, but this looked like her entire arm was going into a spasm. "I'm sending you back to the castle."

"Who the fuck made you the boss!" she yelled.

"Listen Ten. If she wants to stay, then she can stay." Mr. DB said, trying to convince him.

"Yeah!"

"But I'll be her responsibility to not use her Shikai anymore." He finished.

Tenchi though about this for a moment "Fine." He muttered in defeated. "But stay in bed tomorrow. I don't want you to get hurt."

"We're soul reapers. It's kind of our job."


	7. Look then Run

**Chapter 7 Look then Run**

Naruto ran through the castle halls. Today was the day. She was finally leaving the stone walls and traveling into the great unknown. Well, unknown to her. "Jim!" she yelled, pounding on the bathroom door of his room. "Come on! Are you ready! We need to eat and go! Come on! Don't make me come in there!"

She heard the lock click and she took a step back "What are you doing in here?" he asked. "How did you even get in? You don't have a key."

"I picked the lock." She replied sweetly. Of course she did, why wouldn't she. Jim was starting to think that the entire squad was full of secrets and monsters so this kind of stuff should really stop surprising him. "So are you ready? Come on! Please tell me you're ready!"

"Its 6am in the morning, we don't leave for another 7 hours." He replied, annoyed.

"So are you ready?"

Jim sighed and wiped his hands on a towel. "If you're asking if I'm packed, then yes. But I have to work with Val for a few hours before we can leave." Someone was always getting injured and his help was always appreciated when groups came in.

"Aw." She wined before going to sit on a bed in the room.

Jim went over to his bed to grab a clean uniform. "You're not just going to sit there for 7 hours are you?"

"No, just until you leave." She smiled and fell back on the bed. "So, you want to be a medic."

"We are not talking about this." He said, brushing his teeth. "This is my choice and we are not talking about this."

"Ok." She shrugged. They didn't talk after that. Eventually Jim came out and the two left the room. They walked together down the hall but split up after they got to the stairs. Jim went down and Naruto went up. There was a nice sized training room that she had been using ever since she had burned down the first one. It wasn't entirely her fault, but she had done a significant amount of water damage trying to stop the flames. Atticus was still made at her for that. Speaking of Atticus. "Morning At!"

"Morning Miss Ino."

She snorted "Why are you calling me that?" she asked. Atticus motioned over to the side of them. Over by the door way was a man that Naruto had never seen before, he was holding a clipboard and writing something down. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah," he whispered "unfortunately it is. Best go tell the others to be on their best behavior." Naruto nodded and slipped out of the room. She wasn't the stealthiest person in the world, what with her rainbow sheath and all, but she how to disappear when she wanted to.

As soon as she was out of ear shot she bolted back to the bedroom hall. "Everyone wake up!" she yelled. Flash stepping from door to door, pounding on them. "We have an inspector here!"

Mercury stuck his head out of the door "Ah wha?" he mumbled, his hair a mess.

"An inspector." She said, flash stepping right in front of him. "Some dude from the soul society has come to see us!" Mercury said nothing, did nothing. He just stood there. His eyes weren't even open. "Mercury! Wake up!" she snapped.

"I'm up!" he said with a start, flinging his arms around, almost hitting Naruto in the face.

"Good, now stay up and start looking pretty! We all have to be looking good today so we don't get screwed over." She said and disappeared in a flash of leaves.

"Great, now I have to clean that up." He mumbled, staring at it but doing nothing. Mabey if he stared at it long enough it'll clean itself up.

Naruto flickered through the halls telling everyone she could, including the unseated officers, until she came to the dining hall. There she skidded to the stop and hid behind a pillar. "Shit." She whispered. The inspector was already there, looking at everything! Every dent and broken stone.

"What's the matter?"

Naruto spun around and nearly bumped into Wan. "Wan! God! Don't scare me like that!"

"Why are you hiding?" he asked.

Naruto stuck her head out and looked into the dining room "There's an inspector!" she hissed.

"So?"

"So? SO! He's from the soul society! The frisking Soul Society!"

"Again, so? What can they do?" He asked. "They can't make us go back. There probably just here to make sure we didn't break anything that they paid for. Which we have but Atticus has done a good job covering that up." Naruto stared at him and blinked, once, twice, three times and then cracked smile. It wasn't a big smile, in fact, it was barely noticeable. She looked over at the inspector and ran down the hall. The garden, the garden was the one place he couldn't touch. They didn't pay for that place, it was there before, the castle was built around it. If Wan was right, then she could hide in there. "Naruto wait!" Wan said, chasing after her. "Where are you going?"

"Wan! I need you to gather up everyone you can find and bring them to the garden. Do it as fast as you can, use all the butterflies if you have to!" she yelled and disappeared.

Wan stood there for a second and turned to leave "I don't know what she's planning but ok. Ok." She shrugged and went to the room where they kept all the hell butterflies. They called it the hell room but it was actually kind of pretty in there.

"What are you doing in here?" Vampire Tekking asked.

Wan jumped slightly, not seeing him at first "I needed to send a message to everyone in the castle." He said.

"Then why don't you use the load speaker?"

"I don't want the inspector to hear."

"So put a hell butterfly next to the load speaker." He shrugged.

Wan looked at him, that was actually a pretty smart idea. He nodded and took a single butterfly, careful not to let any land on him except the one he picked up, and left the room to. The radio room was right across the hall so he didn't have to walk far. "Why haven't we used this before?" he asked to no one in particular. There was an unseated officer sitting in the wheelly chair by the control panel but he was playing on his phone. "Hey." He said, "I need to use this." The unseated officer nodded, moving out of the way.

The unseated officer looked up when he heard the message that was being put through the micro phone. Sighing he got up and went to the garden. There he ran into Naruto directing everyone into a hidden room that was beneath the castle. "Naruto!" Amulet called. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes!" she called. "Is Atticus keeping the inspector busy?"

"Yeah, I saw him going into the training room you burned down and drowned."

"Good." She said "There's enough diverse damage in that room to keep them busy for months."

"Ok, just what are you planning? Why are you so freaked out about this?"

Naruto ran up and grabbed Amulets shoulders. "I have an idea!" she yelled before running down into the dark room. "Soul!" she yelled "Please tell me your ready to leave."

"Really?"

"Yes really! Come on, grab your stuff, we're getting out of here."

It didn't take long for the group to get together with their stuff and left the castle. Naruto never explained herself on why she got everyone into the garden and the others didn't push it. She was a weird person anyways, though Jim was a little mad about being taken away from the medic hall. He had been working with a patient for God's sake.

Soon enough they made it to the town that they were to stay at. It was close to the one the other group was but far enough away for them not to run into each other. They quickly settled in a small apartment they rented for the week and headed out. They four split up into two groups and headed in opposite directions.

Naruto and Jim went to the warehouse district, and Soul and Amber went to the into the city, both groups were in their gigais but had soul candy within reach. The warehouse district was pretty close to their apartment so they figured it was a good place to start.

Naruto kicked a can as they walked down a road. "So what are we supposed to find again?" she asked. Trying to find something to talk about.

"I thought you knew what we were doing." Jim said but pulled out a picture of a shiny black object anyways. "It's called Desert Glass. It's about the size of a fist but it's pretty flat. So it will probably fit in your pocket."

"You're overestimating the size of female pants pockets." She said "Its about the size of my thumb."

"Really?"

"Really." She said. "So that's the thing that I'm not allowed to touch right?" she asked, referring to the object.

"Yeah, direct contact with the skin is not a good idea."

"How much of a not a good idea?"

"Cutting off your hand would be less painful." He said bluntly.

"So a very much a not a good idea." She joked, picking up the can so she could drop kicked it. Putting little Reishi into it so it would go even farther.

"Excuse me." Came a small voice. The two turned to see a sweat looking young girl peaked her head out from behind one of the buildings. She had chin length blond hair and beautiful, but dull green eyes. "Have you seen my brother?" her voice was ridiculously quiet, Naruto had to enhance her hearing just to figure out what she said.

Naruto approached her and crouched down "I'm sorry little girl, you're the first person we've seen since we've gotten here. But we can help you look if you want. What does he look like?"

"He looks like me but taller and male." She said innocently. "He has the same hair as me and the same eyes. He wears a green pants and green coat but has a black tank top underneath."

"Do you know where he last was?" Jim askes, trying to help. It felt weird talking to a human again after being dead for so long, or for however long he had been dead. He didn't really know.

"We were walking back from the mall and we got separated. Please, I want to go home. We promised that we would be back for dinner." She played her pink dress, not looking up at them.

Naruto nodded and took her hand. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Lilly and my brother's name is Vash."

"Lilly, that's a pretty name. My names Naruto and that's Jim. Come on, we'll help you." She smiled and lead them out of the warehouse district. "Now Lilly, do you or your brother have a cell phone?"

"No ma'am."

"Well then we just have to look a little harder then."

Meanwhile Amulet and Soul were wandering around the main city talking to the residence looking for anything that seamed unusual. So far, they had nothing. No disappearances. No unexplained deaths or comas. The people in this town we're spiritually special. There weren't even any major hollows in the town. They had dealt with the one on the way into the town and it had been so weak Naruto had literally just walked up and stabbed it and it was dead. The town was boring, their "city" was just a bunch of shops and restraint put together along three streets. They had made literally no progress on finding the object or anything else and Amulet was getting frustrated.

Eventually they decided to take a break and stopped to get a bite to eat at a small bakery. "This is pointless, were never going to get anywhere if we keep wandering around like this. We need a plan." She looked up when she heard the café door's bell ring. It was a habit of hers, to always face the door and know where everyone was, it had been an important skill before she came to the castle.

The man, or young adult, looked lost and frantically looking for something. He walked up to the counter and talked to the lady who was working "Excuse me." The lady called to get everyone's attention. "Have any of you see a young girl with short blond hair in a pink dress wandering around. Her brother is looking for her and they are going to miss their train ride home." No one came forward and the lady shrugged and wished the young man good luck with finding his sister.

"Hey Soul. All the jobs that we looked at." She paused and pulled out her phone "All the towns they take place in are connected by the train." She opened a map that she had made in her free time. It was supposed to show the location of all Shinigami out on a mission but it took a while to get it to work because of the security she had put on it. You started out by opening the text messages, and then you had to go into a fake contact and type a specific message, and it was all rather annoying.

Soul took her phone and looked at the map. They say their two dots and their teams' dots, but if they zoomed out then they could see the dots of the other team in the town over. There were faint lines drawn on the map showing roads and train lines. The train tracks went around and through a pair of mountains. They weren't that big mountains, you could probably hike up and down them in less than a day.

"Hey, I have an idea." Amulet started. "Let's drop our bodies off at the apartment and search with flash step. The people here clearly have no idea of what we're looking for so whats the point of asking them." Soul nodded and the two left.

Lilly and the two Shinigami walked down a deserted road. "What time is it?" the little girl asked.

"Aw, 6.15." Naruto said "Why?"

"The train home is at 6.45. Brother might be there."

"At the train station?" Lilly nodded. "Ok then, show us the way." Naruto shrugged and changed their direction.

It didn't take long for them to reach the station. It wasn't a grand thing, a booth and a plat form really but it did its job. A decent number of people were already there so they helped look around. "Big brother." Lilly spoke when she saw a blond haired man. He turned to reveal a face nearly identical to the girls. "Big Brother!" she cried, leaping into his arms.

"Lilly." He said, holding her close.

"You're welcome." Naruto mumbled.

"Oh, big brother. These are the people who helped me find you." She said in a quiet voice, directing the young man's attention to them.

"Thank you very much for helping my sister out." He said, reaching out a hand. "My name is Vash."

"Just do us a favor. Keep a better eye on her next time, ok? We don't want her getting hurt because she wandered off again." Jim said. The man nodded and the two went to wait for the train.

"Well, we may not have found that thing but at least we did some good today." Naruto said as they headed back to the apartment. They had already texted Amulet and Soul to tell them to meet them there. "We're back!" she yelled, slamming the door open.

"Hey." Amulet said, busy making some tea. "Want some?"

"Oh, yes please." Naruto reached up to take it, only to have Soul get there before her. "Hey!" She wined.

Amulet rolled her eyes and got another mug. While she was in the kitchen her phone rang. "Hello?" she answered, not checking the caller id.

"Amulet, its Atticus. I suspect your mission was a success."

"Uh, no actually." She said, placing down the mug and walking into the other room and putting it on speaker so everyone could hear. "We have yet to locate the object."

"What do you mean. Our sensors show that its leaving town faster than any car could travel. It has to be a Shinigami. Is all your team accounted for?"

"Yes, we're all here. Atticus where is going?"

There was a pause and the sound of a few bottoms. "North west. Its already pretty far from where you are staying so you have to hurry." He said and hung up.

The team looked at her "You heard the man, shed your body's and run. We don't have much time."

"He said north west, right?" Naruto started to panic. "The train Lilly and her brother are on! It's going in that direction! What if she's in danger again!"

"You think the object is on their train?" Jim asked.

"What, who's Lilly?" Amulet asked.

"This girl who we helped out today. She had lost her brother." Jim said "Come on, it looked like a crowded train. We can't let the humans get hurt."

The four ran out the door and flashed stepped towards the train tracks. Soul got there first and entered through the back of the train. They took a step forward and paused once they saw what was on the train.

Amulet, Naruto, and Jim flash stepped in behind their partner and looked around. The train cart was full of bodies "Their not sleeping, are they?" Naruto askes.

Jim went over to examine the bodies "No they are not."

The group went further up the train, only to find more bodies. "Have you seen Lilly yet?" Naruto asked Jim who shook his head. "I'm starting to get worried."

"You should be." Amulet said. "She's either dead, going to be dead, or something else." She turned her head over to Jim. "How did they die?"

"There's a puncture wound on each body but I can't tell what it's from."

They flash stepped from door to door but stopped when they reached the first cabin. Soul reached for the handle but stopped "There's a Bount in there."

"How do you know?" Naruto asked. But didn't get an answer as Soul threw open the door and marched in. There was something different about him, he stood straighter, walked faster.

Just inside the cabin stood Lilly and Vash. There was no one else, no bodies or souls. "Lilly?" Naruto asked, slowly stepping forward.

Amulet pushed her aside and approached Vash. "We know you have the Desert Glass, hand it over."

Vash looked at them without care. Slowly he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "This?" he asked, the piece of fabric moving slightly to reveal a black glass object that looked like obsidian. Amulet nodded and held out one hand, the other reaching for her sword. "You can have it." he tossed the black object.

Naruto dove for it, catching it with her bare hands. "OW!" she screamed, dropping the object onto the ground. Her hands started turning black. "Jim, you were right!" she yelled, panicking. Jim rushed forward and placed a sealing kido and her hands as she rolled over and grabbed her Zanpaktou. The black stopped spreading and she went to attack Vash. Her sword sealed in her hands, allowing her to fight.

"Big brother!" Lilly yelled, trying to get out of binding kido Soul had managed to place on her when Vash had dropped the glass.

"That's not your brother you brat." Soul growled, placing their sword over her neck. "That thing isn't even human."

"Let her go." Vash growled, turning his attaching to the reaper. When Soul made no move to do so, he reached up to his arm and unclipped the white cross pin the hung there. "Gewehr." The pin transformed and turned into a small, black, rabbit looking animal. The rabbit sat on its owners hand for a moment before jumping up and attacking Soul only to have Naruto jump in the way.

She swung her sword down "Come forth and give me your powers, Niji no Kami!" she yelled, releasing her Shikai. She quickly decided that her best choice was to use the metal the train was made out of as a weapon. She twisted her sword, the metal around her twisting with it, and stuck the rabbit form multiple angles. She smiled, thinking she had beaten it, only for the rabbit to pulse and she got knocked back, hitting the wall hard. "Ow!" she yelled, trying to get up, only to have the metal around her twist and trap her in place. "Get this off of me!" She tried to use her ability to move the metal but it wasn't working. The rabbit grew in size and started resembling less like a rabbit and more like a monster.

Amulet approached Vash as Jim went to retrieve the object. He was careful not to touch it with his bare hands, instead using the handkerchief that the Bount hand used.

Vash tried to attack Soul but Amulet blocked him. Souls blade leaving a cut on Lilly's neck that started to leak blood "Big Brother." She whimpered.

"Don't worry Lilly, you'll be fine." Vash promised. He turned his attention to the Shinigami and called his Doll away from Naruto and towards Amulet.

The monster not rabbit lumbered forward and held out its hand. The claws grew into long and hollow things before launching them at Amulet. She blocked it with a chair that Naruto had freed, not risking her glass sword against an unknown object. "Jim, free Naruto and get out of here! You to Soul."

"No!" Soul yelled, pressing the blade further into Lilly's neck.

"Yes! Leave the girl and go!" he growled and hit the young girl over the head to knock her out before helping Jim with Naruto and jumping out of the cart. "Why the window?" Amulet asked. Now there was glass all over the floor and stuff flying everywhere.

"Why did you ask them to leave?" Vash asked.

Amulet didn't bother to answer him, figuring her actions would give him enough to figure it out. She held her blade up to a stylized defense position. The blade pointing down and the handle just above her head. "Dance and steal. Shiro Yoko." The blade released a purple mist the spread throughout the cabin and she started to fade from view.

The not rabbit stubble forward and fell. "Gewehr!" Vash yelled. He tried to run forward to attack Amulet, but couldn't find her. Instead he ran into a wall and tripped over some upturned seats. "Dame it! Where are you?" the mist was so think at that point he couldn't see Lilly who had just been a few feet away from him a moment before. "Lilly!" he cried. "Lilly." He said, a little more tired. He could feel his energy being drained from him.

Amulet almost felt sorry for him, but didn't let the feeling get to close to her heart as she flashed stepped out of her position, dispersing the mist, and stabbing the Bount in the heart. She kept her eyes closed as the life slipped away from the young man.

Slowly she pulled her glass blade out of the him and whipped the blood off it. She couldn't even look at Lilly's stunted body as she went to the window of the still moving train and jumped out. Hopefully when the train reached its next station Lilly would be taken care of. And the bodies identified and given a proper funeral.

She met up with the rest of the team and called Atticus. "I trust you obtained the glass." He said.

"Yes, however in the process we had an encounter with a Bount."

"What happened?" he asked.

"After we figured out the object was on a train, we followed. However, when we got there all the passengers had been killed and their souls taken."

"Alright. Send one of your team members back to the castle with the object, and be prepared to fill out a report. I want the rest of you to go meet up with the other team in the town over."

"Got it." Amulet said and hung up.


	8. Running

**Chapter 8 Running**

Sky, Mercury, Rensa, and Enzi were known as the running team. Mercury thought it was a stupid name but it did kind of fit. This was proven when they arrived at the town they were to be stationed at in less time than anyone expected. It was supposed to take them 4-6 hours, and they got there in an hour and a half. At least this team name wasn't as bad as the first, the long legs. While it was true, it wasn't a good team name. It made them sound like spiders. Not even the cool spiders, the non-poisons ones. They had already been informed of the other teams' progress and victory over the bounts so they were at least not going into the mission blind.

"This place is nice." Sky said, referring to their less than ideal hotel "Could be better but at least its standing." The group sighed "What? We could be camping. Besides, any sleep is good sleep." He said, he didn't get any sleep the night before and only a few hours the night before that.

"I would not be here if we were camping." Enzi commented, flicking his hair put of his face.

Rensa looked at Enzi like he wanted to say something to that but chose not to. Instead he walked into the hotel and set the groups bag down. None of them had brought a gigai so the bag really only contained spare uniforms and random crap that they thought would be important. "So how are we supposed to find this Bount?" he asked. "I mean; we know there here but what do we do about it?"

"We find, we fight, we go home." Mercury shrugged, patting his katana on his shoulder.

"It can't be that simple." Sky said.

"Oh but it is." He moved his katana so he was leaning on it like a cane. "So what are we still doing here? Come on, the first person to find one gets the usual prize."

"This isn't our normal race." Enzi said "I want double."

Mercury stared at him for a moment and then vanished. Leaving behind a faint whisper in his place "You're on." And not a tenth of a second later, the room was empty.

Searching the town was one of the easiest things they ever done. Flash stepping through the sky was rather boring really, all the house looked the same and so did all the people. They looked for anything suspicious or anyone who could see them. They were on their fifth sweep of the town when Sky suddenly stopped.

"Did you see something?" Rensa asked.

"Yeah, there was this guy who was staring at us." He went lower. "I don't see him anymore though." He dropped himself onto the ground and started to physically run, following what little sensing ability he had. The trail was very well hidden and they would have lost it if not for a load clang to the right of them. "Shhh." He said, hiding behind a large wall. They were in the industrial district of the town. The whole town had an industrial feel to it but his was were the factories were. "Found it." he whispered as he dragged the rest of the team into hiding with him.

"What's the matter my northern brother?" Came a distinctly German voice. Mercury tried to get a good look at who they were but Sky pulled him back as soon as he moved. All he could see was that the man who was talking with a German accent had white hair and the other had blond.

The man with blond hair had a strong accent as well but it wasn't German. "I saw reapers." He mumbled. "I think they're looking for us."

"See, this was why I needed to talk to you. Remember when Mathias was attacked but totally kicked ass. I think that ass has brought back up." The blond man grunted. "This is not a joke Berwald. I need you to get the word out that it's time to leave. Tell your family to pack up and return to the north."

"What about yours?" Berwald asked.

"They killed Vash." He said darkly "They need to pay."

"They hurt Mat. We can help."

"No!" the white haired man yelled before sighing "Listen, when they murdered Vash they took the gem. I'm sorry but you're going to have to tell Lukas to find another way."

There was silence for a moment and then the sound of movement "Do you want us to take anyone in?"

"I'll ask but it's their choice." He said. "I'm sorry about dragging you out here. I didn't find out about the gem until it was too late to contact you." The blond grunted and left. He didn't see them when he passed their hiding spot but Mercury took special note of his Reishi. It felt cold compared to the energy he felt throughout the castle so it would be easy to recognize if he'd ever ran into it again.

Once they made sure both bounts were gone Enzi pulled out his phone "I'm going to call Atticus. I know he sent out a number of unseated officers yesterday and they should know what's going on."

Rensa stretched "Ask them if Tenchis' team has gone back yet."

Mercury snorted "Why?"

"Who in the castle right now is strong enough to take on a Bount?"

"Laugh and her team." Mercury shrugged.

"Atticus and Val." Said Enzi.

"The King." Sky threw in "And the other kings." He awkwardly added.

"Ravens teams." Mercury added.

Enzi was about to say something but after glancing at Rensa he quickly shut up. "Just call him already." Sky said, jumping into the air but not doing anything besides standing there. "Should we follow one of them?"

"No. Not yet." Rensa said and then shushing everyone so Enzi could talk to Atticus. The call was only a few short minutes and Enzi didn't tell them what they were talking about. "What's the news?"

"He wants us to come back but asked that we take a detour along the way."

"Do we get to kill something?" Mercury asked, only half kidding.

"Yes we do." Enzi smiled, rocking on his heals so his hair was swaying along with him. "There's a town that's having a problem with hollows and we get to go in and fix that."

"So what was the point coming here then?"

"The point was to find the Bount. We found it." Sky said, "Also I want my prize." The teamed groaned and went back to their hotel to grab their one bag and went to their next town.

They took the train because Atticus told them to. Something about all the towns the Bounts are at being connected by the train. It didn't take them all the way to the hollow town but it was a nice ride. Mercury noticed that the people on the train had higher than normal spiritual energy. As did the people at each stop they passes. These towns seemed to be spiritual hot spots so it was no was no wonder Bounts and Hollows were attracted to them.

After they left the train and flash stepped to their next spot and imminently ran into some hollows. And they weren't some average joe hollows either, the group was made up of Adjuchas and lead by a Vasto Lorde. "Oh, what do we have here?" Asked a hollow who looked like an overgrown monkey with a big head. "Some petty Soul Reapers looking for a fight?" he lumbered forward, trying to look intimidating but instead just looking like an oaf.

Sky sighed, in all honesty he was tired and didn't want to deal with idiot hollows at that moment. He was supposed to be fighting some Bounts with unknown power, not some cliché monsters that the unseated could deal with. He was captain class for Soul Soulity sakes. Jumping up he head butted the hollow, breaking the white bone mask and killing it. Mercury whistled in approval before pulling out his blade and stabbing the one on his left in the face without looking. Rensa and Enzi also joined in on the fight but did so at a much slower pace than the other two. The former started using kido to blow up anything that got close, Enzi included. Luckily he moved out of the way before the flames burnt his clothes.

"Watch it!" he yelled before moving to kill his own hollow group. He was busy dealing with one in front of him when some reptile looking one came up behind him and tried to smash his head in but only succeeding in cutting some of his hair. As he watched the pink strands float to the ground his face darkened. "You shouldn't have done that." He whispered. His translucent blade pulsed, letting out a shower of sparks before vanishing along with him. The hollow looked around, trying to figure out where he went but was cut in half.

As the two sides of its body fell to the ground, Enzi stood behind it, his eyes covered in the shadows of his bangs. Mercury stopped to look at him but was almost killed for it. "God dame it!" he yelled before releasing his Shikai. "Burn to a crisp Moeru Oni!" his blade started to smoke and he disappeared. He liked his Shikai, it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. And outside as well, what with the fire and everything.

While he was busy killing everything he touched, Sky had approached the lizard like Vasto Lorde. There was an explosion behind him, probably caused by one of Rensas' kido, that made several things catch on fire. Sky's brown hair had fallen out of its pony tail and was getting in his face. "Listen you ass" He growled "I've didn't get any sleep last night and I have been running around all day so I am only going to say this once. Leave now or I _will_ destroy you."

"And how are you going to do that you petty reaper?" The thing snarled. Its claws arched and it's backed hunched over, ready to pounce.

Sky let a small smile slip onto his face "I was hoping you would ask." He raised up his blade and compressed his reishi. "Judge the guillotine, Sybankai Lateninia." His blade shrunk and became white fingerless gloves and spots on his ankle. Time seamed to slow down for him, the bird that had been flying pass them moved at a snail's pace. The clouds stopped moving and the fire from the explosion froze in place. He took a step forward and went to attack the lizard as time returned too normal.

"What the-" the lizard said and Sky moved faster than he could track. He tried to bring up his claws to defend himself but his arm was broken by the sheer force of the blow. The hollow screamed in pain as his limb bent in places it was never meant to bend. The thing looked up in anger and tried to attack Sky again only for the reaper to do a flip and kick the Hollow in the face. Its mask cracked, revealing a face underneath but it was not enough to kill it.

The thing cursed, trying to charge forward at Sky, only to have a smoking blade shoved through its forehead.

As the Hollow disintegrated and Rensa and Enzi cleaned up the remaining few the two Shinigami looked at each other. "What?" Mercury asked.

"That was my kill." Sky said, letting his Shikai fade.

"So?"

"I wanted to kill it."

"Oh get over it." Mercury said, sealing his sword and putting it away. The four grouped up again and left for the castle.

Once they returned home they were eminently pulled into a meeting with Atticus and the other seated officers in the castle. Those who were busy with their missions were put on facetime.


	9. Air and Blood

**Chapter 9 Air and Blood**

The castle was hot and humid, doing hell to Enzis hair. The meeting was boring and hardly interactive. Basically all that happened was XV talking about a reishi flair they could use if her help was ever seriously needed and she wasn't in the eminent proximity. And Atticus how wanted to call everybody back because of what Enzi and his team had overheard and trying to figure out how the black rock fit in with the Bounts plans. So far they've discovered that it held a large concentration of Reishi and you couldn't break it. Mercury tested that out by using every destructive ability he possessed and even got many of the other Soul Reapers to try as well. Atticus ended up yelling at Laugh for blowing up a part of the table she sat at. Lightning apparently want on the Atticus approved list of stuff you can do in the meeting hall. Most kido was on that list so they really should have known.

As much as he wanted to agree with Mercury and blow the thing up, Atticus did have a point. The thing was basically a solidified cero. Cracking it open didn't seem like the wisest move when concerning ones' health and safety. When he voiced his opinion to Mercury, he said something along the line of "Where already dead. What could go wrong?" then he was promptly punched in the face. Enzi quickly left the meeting hall in order to avoid being dragged into the all-out brawl that would most likely follow.

He wandered around the halls for a while and eventually went into Zeta the Betas' room. That wasn't the real name of the room, but that's what everyone called it. Zeta was the Kings beta fish and he was loved by all so it was only natural that the room he was kept in would be given his name. Best fish of 2016. He even had his own mini sword, it was adorable. Nobody really knew how the fish was even capable of using a sword, but it was best not to ask questions.

He played with the fish for a while, tapping on the bowl until Raven came in. "Hey Raven." He said in a monotone and bored voice. He didn't bother to look at her, her Reishi always had a stark contrast to his to it was pretty easy to pick up on. Not in a bad way, but in the 'oh you're my foil' kind of way.

"Do you have your sword with you?" She asked, not fully coming into the room. He could never really tell if she was shy or not. She didn't seem shy, but then again he really didn't know her that well.

Enzi turned his head to look at her "Yeah" he said slowly "We're supposed to carry it around at all times here."

"Good." She nodded "Keep it that way." And turned to leave.

"Wait, why do you ask." He said, turning to see her hand on the door. "This isn't the Soul Society, we're in the human world. We have to have it with us, with a seal on or not."

"We're in the human world." She said "Anything can get into the human world. And I checked, there's nothing really keeping anyone out except a few barriers."

Enzi paused at that. "Have you told the others?" he asked.

"You're the last seated officer." She said and left.

"Ok, weird." He shrugged and went back to playing with the fish. It wasn't until a few hours later when something interesting happened. The sun was just being a sun, sitting on the horizon doing nothing, then suddenly, it went black. Not the world, Enzi could still see, but the ball in the sky went from white tallow too black. Enzi stood up and gripped his sword but nearly fell over when the ground began to shake. "What is going on?" he asked and left the room after making sure Zeta the beta was safe. He ran across the hall and down some stairs he ran into the group of people standing at the front door. Suddenly the shaking stopped. "Raven!" he yelled "What the hell is going on!"

Raven turned to look at him and shrugged. "Why would I know." She said. "This is the human world; it could be anything."

Enzi quickly jumped over the people and turned his attention to try and find what was happening. Coming over the hill was a giant stone beast with a small blond man sitting on its shoulder. "That's not good." He said and drew his sword. "How did the Bounts find us?"

Turning back, he realized that most of the unseated officers were missing but Enzi tried to put that out of his mind as he leapt forward and tried to attack the stone beast. He knew he wasn't going to get much progress putting his blade against a moving bolder, but he needed to see how strong it was before he got serious and went for the man sitting on top. He was rewarded for his efforts, however, with a swift kick from the hunk of rock that knocked him back into the castle wall and leaving him feel rather drained. That was weird. It like all of his energy left him as he flew through the air.

"Enzi!" Tom yell as he jumped from a fourth floor window. In his hand was an already released Zanpaktou. Enzi was confused, what would a meat cleaver do against a stone monster. He would have to get very close to do anything with that kind of weapon.

With great effort, he turned his head and looked across the hills. Coming up behind the beast were three more blonds, each with varying degrees of bloodlust leaking from them. Enzi tried to say something but just couldn't work up the energy to do so. Slowly his eyes closed. That didn't seem right, he was supposed to be up and fighting. He couldn't let a single kick keep him down. But he wanted to sleep, he was so hungry and tired. Why was he outside again?

Tom looked over to the pink haired man and sent out a flair of Renshi, alerting Val that she was needed and fast. While he knew he couldn't take on stone Doll, that didn't mean he couldn't handle large black bird that was flying ever closer above the shortest of the blonds. As he approached, Tom realized his hair was more white then blond, but that didn't matter, so it will be red.

He let his cleaver swing as he walked towards the boy, who couldn't be much older than 15 but was dressed up in a dark brown suit, and laughed. It had been so long since he had someone he could kill without mercy. He had worked so long on stamina so this fight should be easy.

"What are you laughing at?" the boy asked.

"I was just thinking about how many ways I could but you and your little bird up there into tiny little pieces." The boy seemed a little taken aback by the bluntness of Tom and quickly grabbed the black birds foot to be lifted into the air. "Oh no you don't!" He said, jumping after him. However, he found it hard to run in the air as it seemed to fall out from under him. But that shouldn't be, he wasn't standing on air, he was standing on Reishi.

"My names Emil." The boy said. "And this is my Doll, Lundi."

"And I don't care." Tom flash stepped forward to cut the bird. Blood shot out of it and the bird fell a few feet. Suddenly the air became easer to sand on and the tempter went up a few degrees. He tried to move faster to get to Emil but the bird ruffled his feathers and he was pushed back by the wind. His black eyes widen when he realized this what he could do didn't sink up with what the bird could do. Getting close to attack wouldn't be very easy when the bird could manipulate the wind. "Wan!" he yelled. Wan had gone off to fight the stone thing with some others and couldn't hear Tom. Though Sky did.

"Wan!" Sky yelled as he dodged a giant fist "You're needed!"

"Kind of busy here." Wan said.

"He says he busy!" Sky yelled to Tom.

"Too bad, get him over here!" Tom yelled back.

"He says too bad and he wants you over there." Sky said to Wan.

Wan sighed and left his team to go help the idiot who was fighting a giant pidgin. Ok, it wasn't a pidgin, it looked more like a puffin. Or maybe it was a raven or a crow, but the beak looked like a puffin. "What!" he yelled, flash stepping close to the bird and cutting it with a two hand swing before appearing next to Tom.

"Wait, you're not even in Shikai yet?" He asked. Why wouldn't he go into Shikai at the first chance he got?

"No." he growled. "I don't want to."

"Why?" Tom asked, not even looking as he flash stepped closer and managed to nick the bird before he got tossed back and cut by the wind.

"Because!" he yelled, going in for the kill but hit the birds wing. "What the?" he asked. The wing was made up of steal. The wing pushed down and he got cut by the metal feathers. As blood dripped down his face he turned to Tom "It makes me unstable."

"I thought that was Soul." Tom said quietly to himself.

"What are you two mumbling about?" Emil asked from his position atop the bird. He didn't say it in a demanding voice, but more like he honestly wanted to be a part of the conversation. He grabbed the feathers on his Dolls neck and pushed it forward to dive bomb the duo.

"Dude, I called you over here because I though you could take down the bird. If you can't do that than just leave!"

"Fine then!" he yelled, charging forward with his blade poised to strike "Jereseo!" he commanded, releasing his sword. Like many of his officers in the castle, he didn't have a release command, simply saying the name and poring the correct amount of Reishi into the blade released the power. His katana started to grow, becoming 5 feet long and the handle and guard began to change. The blade itself gave off a yellow glow and became sharper. He blurred out of existence and went to stab the Bird.

The bird however, did not want to be stabbed. It opened its beak and a horde of knives came flying out and honed in on the two standing in the air. "Fuck!" Tom yelled, trying to block the pieces of metal with his meat cleaver and failing miserably. Wan tried to create a shield using his Lone Guardsman ability to create a shield for him and Tom but was stabbed by one of the knives before he could properly activate it. He tried to pull the blade out of his arm but it was stuck. "Wan-" Tom began but was cut off when he was hit in the face. As he was knocked back, he threw his blade at the bird in hope to make some sort of injury. His reaction time was slowly decreasing thanks to his swords side effect and now there was blood in his eye so he really didn't have much of a choice. He wouldn't be able to function much longer anyways.

As his visions cleared, he could see the bird falling out of the air and becoming a small white glove on Emils' right hand. The boy was also plummeting to the ground, hopefully he will hit is head in the landing and save them some time and effort. Tom smiled and tried to regain his footing but was suddenly thrown against Wan and was impaled by the last of the knives that were floating around them. "Tom!" Wan yelled, trying to reach out to him but his arm refused to move. "What did you do?" he demanded. He could feel his rage building up and knew what would happen, but frankly he didn't care at the moment. These basters had come and attacked their home and they deserve ever bit that's coming to them.

He could feel his sword start to shrink and reform around his hands, and he smiled.


	10. Melted Shadows and Unfinished Stories

**Chapter 10 Melted Shadows and Unfinished Stories**

Mercury growled. Why couldn't he have killed that blond the first time he saw him? Stupid Sky, getting in his way. Now the blond and his family had come to kill them. Berwald? Was that his name? Oh well, the name didn't matter. That thing just needed to die.

Mercury grabbed Skys' hand, who had just finished acting as a middle man between Wan and Tom. Rensa had picked up Enzi and cleared a path for Val to make her way over and try and take care of him. So the Native American would probably end up joining them before the fight was up.

"Are you my opponents?" The Bount asked, he was wearing a long, dark blue trench coat and was trying to clean his glasses with a spare cloth but didn't seem to be getting very good results.

"Only if you attack." Sky said. Mercury scoffed at that, they already were attacking. What was he doing trying to talk to the thing? "Why are you here?"

"You have attacked us and stolen what is ours." He said. His voice only had one tone to it and it was starting to creep Mercury out. "We will not stand by as you kill our friends and family." He held out his glasses, "Lagra" he commanded. His glasses glinted in the light and transformed into Carolingian sword.

Sky's eyes narrowed. He had read in the white book that Dolls weren't supposed to turn into weapons. So what was this then? He didn't have much time to think as he was thrown into battle with the blond. The Bount seemed to know what he was doing because he managed to land several hits on Sky. And while they hurt like all hell, they didn't cut the skin. Sky let himself have a quick looked over to Mercury to see what he was doing but almost took a step back when he saw the pure murder in his eyes. "Mercury?" he asked, not noticing the Bount stopping as well.

Berwald sifted slightly, knowing what was going on and silently disapproving it. He pulled out a small pink pill and swallowed it before letting his sword dip to the ground. The grass around him first began to shrink back before being covered in frost and then frozen. The air around them became unbearable cold but this only riled Mercury up further. He moved to release his sword and Sky immediately noticed how jagged and animal like his movements were. "Bankai" he whispered.

The spiritual pressure in the air was suffocating and the frozen ground began to steam. Mercurys' sword began to slowly burn away into nothingness and leaving behind a small black glove. Sky quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the rings of fire! He had to jump quite a distance because the flames were easily 13 feet across and then he had to move up into the air because of the heat given off by the steam. "Mercury! Calm down!" Sky yelled. This was not the time to be losing control and going into Bankai. "We don't have to do this!" But Mercury didn't listen. He liked this feeling, he never got to release he Bankai and it was the first time in a while he didn't have the constant buzzing feeling just under his skin from all the compressed Reishi he had to hold in. Slowly he lifted up the gloved hand and formed a flaming javelin in it. "Mercury!" Sky shouted, but it was too late. Mercury threw the flames at the Bount and they exploded.

Raven watched the blast from her position in the field. She had been forced to leave the battle with the giant when she noticed the small blond dressed in light blue trying to sneak past their defensives. Hopefully Laugh and her team could handle things on their own, none of them had released their Shikai yet so they should be good.

The Bount had introduced himself with a sweat smile telling her his name was Tino and he felt bad because he had to kill her. Raven returned the gestor of sympathy with telling him that she was probably feeling worse about the situation and how it was going to have to be resolved.

"Aren't you going to release your Doll?" Raven asked.

"He's already having already having fun." He responded cheerfully, tugging his beret off his head "But if you insist. Luoti." The smile disappeared from his face and the white hat turned into a snipper rifle. He quickly brought the sight up to his eye fired. Raven just barely managed to jumped out of the way and pulled out her swords. "Where's your powers?" he asked "Don't you need it to kill me?

"Oh, I'm going to do a lot more then kill you." She said. Glancing up at the sun, she frowned. She had left her umbrella inside and wasn't at full strength in the light. If she could just-

Her thoughts were cut off when her body started to shake violently and she couldn't breathe. "What's the matter?" Tino asked, pulling his gun up to his shoulder, taking aim and walking forward. "Is there something in the air?" Raven tried to move but her legs fell out from under her and she hit the ground hard. She nearly landed on one of her swords but managed to twist her right so she only lost a sleeve. It was fine, they didn't connect to her uniform anyway.

Raven tried to suppress the pain as she struggled to push herself up off the ground. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Why should I tell you? You're just a reaper."

"And your just a Bount."

"I'm not just a Bount, I'm the Bount that killing you." He said and shot again. But she didtn feel anything hit her. Instead she heard someone to her left scream. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mercury fall back with a bleeding side. "And everyone else here."

Raven knew it was now or never. She waited until Tino was right in front of her face before spinning on her back and kicking him in the gut. She swung herself to her feet and grabbed her swords. "Ankoku!" she yelled, just as the last of the sun set beneath the horizon.

Mercury was confused. How the hell did he end up with a bullet hole in his side? He was being so badass and then suddenly he was shot. Who the fuck even had a gun? And why was it so dark all of a sudden? The only thing that was really proving any light was his flames. His Bankai was still active so he was careful not to land on his flames. Why was he in Bankai though? That seamed stupid considering how much energy it consumed and how much collateral damage it created. He slowly let if fade and returned to the smoking sword but the things that had already caught on fire, stayed in fire.

The smoke in the air was a comforting feeling to him. The fire was like a purifier, taking away the toxins in the air and leaving only the smoke as a bad memory.

"Mercury!" Sky yelled, trying to get to him.

"I'm fine." He managed to get out. Sky nodded and turned to face Berwald. As the smoke filled his lungs he started to think. This Bounts doll were his glassed. Could he still see well enough to battle? Especially with a sword. It was a European sword, meant to break bones, not cut flesh like their katanas.

Slowly, he lowered his Zanpaktou. He wasn't as proficient in sword battle as Mercury was, his strength laid in hand to hand combat, but that wouldn't be the smartest move at the moment. Plus, he didn't want to go in Shikai because of how quickly it drained his reishi and how it would give him a disadvantage against the Bount. So, he did the only thing that seemed right, Kido. He was by no means a master at the demons' arts, but he knew gun beat sword so exploitations should also work as well.

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!" he yelled, hoping it would be strong enough without and enchantment added on. A red beam of light grew from the side of his palm and blasted out and hit the Bount. Berwald tried to block it with his sword but was thrown back and burned pretty badly. Sky didn't wait to see if he would recover and sent another at him "Hadō #32. Ōkasen!" and another "Hadō #33. Sōkatsui!"

The Bount wavered and dropping his sword. "Father!" the blade vibrated.

Sky was just about to send another Kido but was stopped when the Doll turned itself into a little boy in a sailors' outfit. Well, a little boy made of steal. "What the-" Sky said as the boy ran up to Berwald and tried to help him to his feet.

"Lagra." The Bount tried to say, but with his accent and the amount of pain he was in turned the word into a munch of mumbles.

The steal boy stood up and placed himself between Sky and the blond. "Don't come any closer! I won't let you!" His steal clothes moved slightly, glinting in the fire light, confusing Sky even further.

"No. I-" But he was cut off when there was a ripping pain in his shoulder "OW!" He screamed. The darkness grew, snuffing out the light from the flames. Sky turned to see Raven. Or, what was still visible of her.

She was bleeding heavily, but it was hardly notables against the shadows of her Shikai. The only thing you could really make out of her was her pale skin and purple hair. She was surrounded by black beasts made up of similar black flames that incased her swords. Her face was cover in sweat and blood and she was panting.

Across from her was the Bount, holding the rifle up to his shoulder. "Another one down." He said.

"Your opponent is me. They have their own fight to deal with."

"Its two against one. I'm only evening the odds." He smiled. Raven glared in response and disappeared into the shadows. "Oh, are we playing hide and seek again? Fine, Luoti. Find her."

"Yes sir." The gun said, glowing slightly in response. The air around them buzzed and seamed to turn a strange shade of pink, but that might have just been the fire.

Suddenly the black beasts pounced, each forcing their way forward to try and rip and tear at the Bount. Tino was forced to use the rifle as a blunt weapon. "Mister!" The thing said in a way that made it sound like it was about to cry. "She's not in the air!"

The beast continued to attack but they started to focus more on his face. Suddenly, the darkness opened up behind him and a pale hand and a black blade swung out and slashed Tinos back, forcing him to drop the gun. The rip in the shadows closed up and opened again before the Bount could properly understand what was happening. Raven used her beasts to guard her as she drove down and grabbed the rifle.

There was screaming. The kind that could only be the result of torture. Darkness was the only comfort in what was undoubtedly a blood filled room. The screams were soon drowned out by the sound of something dark.

Her heart was pounding, blood pumping in her ears, she was going to die. She was going to die again and again; they would never let her rest.

Pain was there. Pain was always there.

"Raven!" came a voice "Raven! Calm down!"

That voice, that was her Zanpaktou. "Ankoku." She muttered.

"It's ok, Raven. It's just a memory, it's not real. Not anymore."

She nodded and let the rifle drop from her hands. The dark blood room vanished and she opened her eyes and let reality come back to her.

It was still dark, the sun had set and her sword had covered the moon and stars. "Raven." Rensa said softly. "I'm sending for Val. Don't you dare move."

He was about to send up a flair but Raven stopped him. "I am going to kill him." She said, struggling to stand up. "I am going to kill him and then you can send for her."


	11. Rocks and Memories

**Chapter 11! Rocks and Memories**

Laugh was no idiot, though she did tend to act like one on occasion but that was the sugars fault really. She had been trained in many aspects during her life and her death. Though her training in death was far more useful in the current situation she found herself in. And one of the first things she noticed when facing off with this Bount, was that he had a grudge. Even when the other teams were there, she knew that he was going after her and her team. There was murder in his eyes, murder and grief. But it wasn't the normal type of grief, it was a kind of vengeance.

It didn't take much to figure out that it had something to do with their missing memory of the first mission. But none of these Bounts seamed even vaguely familiar. She had talked to Val, Naruto, and Narutos' brother, who kind of creeped her out, and they had all agreed that their memories could be triggered if they saw something specific to the mission. The Bounts are pretty specific to the mission!

Now the battle was just her team verse the Bount and its Doll and to say it was an easy battle would be so far off the mark you might as well be on another realm of existence.

Her team was strong, one of the best, and while everyone else was away, they trained. They always were training, always doing something. But fighting a giant stone monster was not something they ever thought they needed to know how to fight. None of their powers were meant to fight stone!

"Neo!" Det called "Please tell me you have a plan!"

"Uh, Laugh?"

Laugh zipped her head around, she had died her hair blue again, but this time leaving half of it brown. The mismatch locks swooshed around as she stared. "Well, it doesn't have ears." She said lamely.

"But?" Neo asked.

"But," Det said slowly "the Bount does. Guy!" he yelled, arching his blade "I know what to do!" he flashed stepped next to Laugh, avoiding a stone fist while he was at it. He quickly whispered his plan to her before disappearing in a flash.

"Neo! We got 10, 42, 25, and 12 on your left!" Laugh commanded.

"Are you sure? What about right?"

"Detracost has got that!"

"Alright! Then don't hold back!"

Laugh nodded and held her sword out in front of her "Cry! Tsuki no Namida!" she yelled. While her powers were meant to create mirrors, its certainly had some others perks to it to. She twisted her blade and forced the black water forward towards the Doll and pushing it back. The Doll tried to fight it, but its first got caught in the water. The water stopped pushing a reformed into the mirror, surrounding the thing. Laugh herself stepped in and took her place inside the water. Her appearance appeared in ever mirror, even if she was only physically in one.

"Is this your plan?" the Bounts taunted "To put me in a fun house? Hate to break it to you but-" he cut himself off and nodded at the Doll "Stein, you know what to do."

The stone thing stood up straighter and held out its arms. Slowly it spun around, pushing its fat fingers through the water. Laugh was able to get out of the way by jumping from mirror to mirror but soon she was forced out of her Shikai because everything the Doll touched shattered.

She started panting, feeling the energy of her sword drain away from her. "Guys!" she yelled "Don't touch it!" she tried to stand up but her legs gave out from under her.

"Who are you talking to little reaper? Your all alone." Laugh looked around and didn't see her team. She expected not to see Det, that was part of the plan, but Neo should be right beside her. A bubble of panic started to build up in her chest, where was he? He was supposed to be setting up his part of the plan.

Where was anyone? Anyone?

Atticus looked out his window. He, his sister, and all the kings except the Captain sat at a table sipping tea. "We should go out there." Atticus said.

"Why, they're all captain level, they can handle themselves." The vampire said.

"But somethings wrong with them!"

"Somethings always wrong with them. They know what they're doing." Rad said. "Now sit and enjoy your tea. They'll live."

"You trust them right?" Atticus sister said "Then trust that they can beat them."

Atticus nodded and turned his head back to the window, he hated himself for not interfering but at the same time he knew what he had to do. But then again, Laugh didn't look to good.

Laugh tried to calm herself down, breathing through her mouth. Something was odd in the air. It tasted weird. Slowly she pulled her uniform over her mouth and tried to stand up again. While she felt drained, the panic in her seamed to fade slightly. Neo, he was trying to help, but he couldn't he seen.

She summoned her Shikai again, it was weaker this time, but it would still do its job. She attacked the stone thing with water again, this time pushing it back several feet and soaking both the Bount and the Doll completely. She continued to push, directing the blast directly at the Bount, almost pushing his off.

The night sky was already partially covered but soon grew darker with a new rush of dark storm clouds. Neo reappeared behind Laugh and put a hand on her shoulder, his blade looking like a scimitar. "One more time." He said, sparks flying off of his blade. Laugh nodded and created mirrors again around the Doll and pulled the two of them in. "Hold on tight." He whispered. He held his blade in his left hand and positioned himself behind Laugh so they could hold her sword with their right. She slid her left hand alongside Neos blade and helped moved in the water and felt it pulse with electricity. The black liquid began to spark the same as his sword. "Move in." Laugh nodded and the circle of mirrors started to close in on the Doll.

The thing tried to attack the black water again but the eccentricity went up its damp arm and shocked the Bount.

He screamed in pain and fell off the Doll. The thing imminently pulled back and started to crumble. Apparently the Bount needed to be in contact with his Doll in order for it to work. The Bount tried to get back up and head towards the Doll but stopped when a high frequency sound pierced through the air. Laugh and Neo had already prepared with ear plugs but the Bount was not that lucky.

The moment that sound hit his ears, the swords ability had already taken effect. He started seeing things, coupled with Laughs mirrors, he believed he was surrounded by enemies. While Dets powers created 5 illusions of him, the Bount saw 20.

He tried to attack them, he really did, but physically he was weak. He tried to reform his Doll but the crumbled mess simply returned to its sealed state at a cross shaped hair pin. When Det appeared and started attacking him, the Bounts only option was to try and get away. But when it touched the water, the electricity burned him. He tried to fight for a moment but soon gave up and dropped to the ground.

Neo nodded and Det moved in for the kill.

"WAIT!"

Det froze, unsure of what to do. He didn't know who said it but it was load enough to get through his headphones it must be important.

"Please, wait." A man appeared, he had spikey long hair and a similar accent to the teams' opponent. He looked like he belonged in a hospital with all the injuries he had but most of them looked almost if not completely healed. Det stopped his attack and lowered his ear protection. "Lukus." The man cried, running towards the Bount "Please get up, please be ok."

The trio froze when they saw this man. He looked so familiar. Was he the one who they fought on their first mission?

"Mathias." The Bount muttered weakly "You're still hurt. What are you doing out of bed?"

"What? I'm hurt? Luk! Look at you!"

Det turned to looked at Neo and Laugh, really confused at what was going on. Was he supposed to attack? Laugh just shrugged and broke her hold with Neo. Slowly she stepped out of the water. "Excuse me." She said. "You're in the way."

"Why were you attacking him?" he asked.

"He was attacking us."

"Only because you attack him." Lukus said sharply.

"I do not remember that." Laugh responded. "As far as we have been informed, we went out and then we showed back up nearly dead."

Mathias turned to face her "You came to our temporary home, said you were looking for whatever was killing all the humans. You though it was me, because I am a Bount, you though I was killing the living. But I wasn't. I'm telling you I wasn't! I was a hollow!" he cried.

Neo stepped beside Laugh, he hung his blade on his belt but didn't seal it. "My name is Neo Blade the 8th." He said, extending a hand.

"Mathias." The Bount said, not moving to take the hand.

"I will give you this one warning. Tell everyone in your family to leave the castle grounds and never harm us again, directly or otherwise ever again. You will stay here to answer some questions. And we will let you all live. If not, we have no problem killing every last one them."

"Matias don't you dare." Lukus started.

"I agree." He said, cutting the Bount off. He stood up, letting go of Lukus hand. He walked past the reapers and stood a few feet behind them. Slowly he reached into his worn shirt and pulled out a neckless with strange stones threaded through it. He gripped one of the stones and stared to draw energy into them.

"Matias, don't do this. We won't all be able to get home of you use just one of those!"

"Good by Lukus. Tell the rest that I love them. And make sure Berwald doesn't touch my Lego statues." There was a blinding light and all the Bounts, along with their Dolls disappeared.

"What did you do?" Det asked.

"I sent them away. As close to home as I could. It won't be the same but they'll be happy there." He turned towards the three. "Alright, take me to your leader, I guess." He smiled.

It was just then that Atticus pushed open the castle gates and stepped out onto the field. He quickly identified the Bount and stalked forward. Seeing that no one was fighting anymore, he decided to talked to the thing. "Who are you and why are you on our grounds?"

"His name is Matias, and he stopped the other Bounts." Det tried to explain. "He won't harm us, he just going to answer some questions."

Atticus looked skeptical "There is a poison in the air." He said sternly.

"Ah, that would have been Tino. His doll releases gas that messes with people's emotions." The Bount explained. "It should wear off now that he's gone though."

Atticus looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself "You three." He said "I want you to go around and help anyone who's hurt. Bring them to Val or the medical hall if you can. And you," he addressed the Bount "Just, just don't do anything stupid."

As he walked away with Mathias, the teamed looked at each other. "Do you remember him as well?" Laugh asked.

"Unfortunately not enough to know what happened." Neo said.

"I thought we killed him." Det said deadpanned.


	12. Blue eyes, Black sky

**What's this? A new chapter a day early? Well here's the thing, I'm going out of town for a few days and when I get back I have a cosplay thing to get to so I wont be able to get chapter 13 out on time. Sorry. So to be nice I decided to the three people who read this and post this on a Sunday and not a Monday. So you three people, if you have any ideas on who you want the next chapter to be based around, just review or DM me. Also I will most likely be rewriting this once I post the last chapter just to make it, I don't know, good. So if you have any ideas on how I should fix it, then you can say that to. Anyways, thanks for reading this! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 12! Blue eyes, Black sky**

Naruto was a little upset when she was chosen to go back to the castle, epically after the 'incident' she had left on. It wasn't her fault that the inspector creeped her out and sent off all the warning bells in her head. Naruto didn't know who he claimed to be, but it sure as hell wasn't who he was. She felt like she had seen him somewhere before but she didn't know where.

She wasn't really looking where she was going, to busy trying to figure out the lyrics to the song that was stuck in her head, and ended up stepping on something crunchy. She looked down and saw heavily burnt grass. "Ok, that's weird." She said slowly. Looking up she saw that several parts of the field in similar condition, the burnt grass and mud giving off a strange smell. She started getting worried, this wasn't a training field. Atticus got mad when they trained outside of the training areas. Hell, he got made when they did this kind of damage to a training area.

Naruto looked towards the castle. It looked totally fine, but she was proof enough that looks can be deceiving. Maybe what ever went down was limited to the grass, but something told her that the castle wasn't out of the woods yet. Maybe it would get damaged, but hadn't yet. She started flash stepping towards the entrance of the building.

As soon as she got through the gates and into the stone halls she ran into a pissed off Raven. "Raven!" Naruto said loudly. "What the hell happened?"

Raven took a breath as if to calm herself. "Bounts." She grumbled "We fought and they ran." She muttered something else that sounded like 'and I didn't get to kill any' but Naruto wasn't sure so she didn't ask. Instead she just waved and continued on into the deeper halls of the castle. Leaving Raven to grumble in peace.

Mercury was the next person she ran into. He didn't say much but did direct her to go talk to Atticus. He seemed tired, like all he wanted to do was lay down and never get up again. Naruto tried to asked where the Captain King was but he just shrugged and said no one was seen him for a while. His best guess was that he was at work in him human job. While Naruto had never worked a conventional job before, she knew that when the weather got colder, the jobs required longer house. Why the king needed a job was anyone's guess but no one really questioned it. They knew he worked at a store, but it was the kind of job that required a unique set of skills.

Finally, she got into a dark hall and managed to get ahold of Atticus. She had never been in the hall before but all the rooms on her left side would have a great view of the garden and the roof of meeting hall. "Oh good, you made it." he said tiredly as he opened a small door that lead into one of the rooms with a view. "Come this way. You missed a lot while you were gone. Not enough to explain but enough to mention." He sighed and looked down. He seemed tired, just like everyone else. Even the random unseated officers, which were very scares, she had passed on her way to the upper part of the castle looked like they had all the energy ripped from them.

Naruto looked over at him with big eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. "I feel like, you know what, never mind. What do you need me to do?" she asked, trying to keep up some amount of energy despite the depressing air around nearly everyone.

"Do you still have the object with you?" he asked. Naruto nodded and pulled out the object, which was wrapped in cloth, and showed it to Atticus. "That's it?"

"The Bount died for it, so I'm hoping it is. Plus, the location taking thing you did confirmed it." Atticus nodded and took the object. "So like the Bounts came here? And then they just ran away?"

"They came here but they didn't run away." he said. "Here." He said and opened the door wide enough for her to enter. Inside sat Mathias, he was loosely bound in chains but they were clearly just for show as he raised his arm to wave hi but then saw Naruto and imminently put his arm down and pretended he was bound tight. "It's ok Mathias, Naruto doesn't care." He said "Naruto, this is Mathias, he's a Bount who came in and helped us when his clan tried to attack us. Mathias, this is Naruto." Atticus tossed the object towards him and the Bount caught it. His spiky hair bobby slightly as he moved his head out of the way so he didn't get hit.

Mathias held the object up to his face in order to get a better look at it, the chains staying on his arms in a similar style to a shawl. "Where did you get this?" he asked, his smile falling from his face. He looked just as tired as everyone else, but it was a different kind of tired. More of the sick and should be in the hospital kind of tired and not the I just got back from a fight kind of tired.

"On a train." Naruto said. "Not that I'm questing your judgment, but if here's here to help then why is he in chains?"

"It's more for his protection than anything else, most of the Reapers here don't trust him and asked me to keep him contained." Atticus answered. "He can get out at any time but it's this or throwing him in the dungeon and clearly he doesn't deserve it."

Naruto walked closer to Mathias "What do you know of a Bount named Vash?"

"Vash? Um," the Bount though for a little bit "He was from a rival clan we don't normally get along with but Vash tried to stay out of everything so he would try and help us out when we needed."

"Anything else?" she asked.

"His old lover adopted a child with his new wife but when their marriage fell apart Vash adopted her."

Naruto didn't let her face change but Mathias could see her eyes shift. "And was that child?"

"She weak." He said sharply "After she left Elizabeta house, she ended up on the streets half starved. I don't think she ever fully recovered. And they wanted to keep her out of everything so they never taught her how to fight."

"Elizabeta?" Atticus looked up at him "Was her husband's name Rodrick?" he asked slowly.

"Ah, yeah. How did you know that? Why are you asking me these questions? These people aren't in my clan."

"One of my teams ran into that duo when on a mission. You're lucky their not taking any living souls. But," he sighed.

"But?"

"They are killing humans and then consuming their souls."

Naruto turned her head to look at the second in command "That's a detail I was not told." She said confused. "Was that the mission Mr. DB's team was working on?"

"Yeah. But the deaths were only in certain areas so I think it's only the two Bounts who are responsible so those but I have no way of confirming that." Atticus nodded to Mathias. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Like I said, they're a rival clan. But from what I do know, that's not something they would do. Maybe one of their heads but not Liz."

"So, what did your clan do to get food?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

"We had a cover up job as exorcist back home. Sometimes we find hollows but most of the time we just find upset spirits."

Atticus motioned for Naruto to come closer to him and away from Mathias. "That object. What is it?"

"Um," Mathias moved the object around in his hand. "It's kind of hard to describe. From when Lukas tried to explain it to me he said that it's the sleeping Doll of a sleeping Bount."

"By sleeping, do you mean dead?" Naruto asked.

"Not sure. Could be in a coma but Lukas never told me. He sometimes disappears and comes back with these kinds of things. I never learned where he got these." He tossed the object up and down in his bare hand.

Naruto leaned over to Atticus and whispered "Who's Lukas?"

"My boyfriend." Mathias said loudly. "He's hot but can be a pain in the ass when he sets his mind to something." He laughed "I guess that can be said for anyone in my clan. I mean I technically was the head but I rarely get to decide anything now-a-days."

"You're the head?" Atticus asked in disbelief.

"Was, I sent them away without me so by law I lost my place." He shrugged "I'm a traitor."

"There's laws?" Naruto asked surprised. "Hold on, I don't feel comfortable talking to you in chains. Like, I'm sorry At but I don't care what the others thinks." She walked over and lifted up the steal links.

"You don't have to. Really, its ok."

"No it's not. I don't believe in treating people like monsters just because of what they can do." She said sternly. "Now about those laws."

"Well, you see. My clan were from further north than most clans, Emil spent most of his life in Iceland, so our laws might be a little bit different than some other clans."

"Your Nordic." Atticus chuckled. "That explains why you all have blond hair and blue eyes."

"Guess I would fit right in with the rest of your clan then!" Naruto laughed along with him. "So what's the rest of your clan like?" she said, trying to act a little bit more friendly towards him.

"Well, what came here was kind of it." he said slowly "Berwald and Tino are fostering of these two kids but I've never been sure on if they are going to adopt them or not." He looked up to the dark ceiling "We've kind of been dying off lately, and the massacre in Japan hasn't been getting ones hopes up. Especially since none of us can have kids."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't there for whatever went down outside. So please explain."

"Um, well Berwald is tall and creepy but he means well. Tino is small and seams nice but is really scary. Emil is Lukas little brother, well, Lukas found him and that's normally how we decide on how everyone is related but Emile doesn't like being called that. And Lukas is just Lukas. He's really into magic and stuff that I'm not allowed to touch."

"Sound sweat." She smiles.

"You said something about sending them home but they wouldn't make it." Atticus said, not as a question but as a statement.

Mathias nodded "This, object, has a large amount of constricted reishi, it might as well be a soul. A soul has a lot of power. I don't know how it works, but Lukas told me that if I fill up the necklace he gave me with these stones. Then we could go home. But we needed all of the objects."

"And you didn't have all of them." Naruto said quietly.

Mathias nodded "This was the strongest one." He said "Without this all I could do was get them close enough for them to make it on their own."

"Why didn't you take a plane if you needed to get home that badly?"

Mathias smiled softly "I wish it was that simple." He sighed and stretched. "Hey, Atticus right?" the lieutenant nodded "Can I have some food? Anything made from Reishi should be fine."

"Yeah, uh, Naruto. Can you go get some food from the dining hall?" Atticus asked politely.

"You guys have a dining halls here!" the Bount yelled. "So cool!"

Atticus just waved Naruto out the door and continued to talk to Mathias. Naruto sighed, this was not the reason she came home. She still hadn't even turned in her report, which she had written while taking the train back.


	13. The town over

**Chapter 13! The town over**

 **Thanks for all your support guys! It really means a lot. It's getting to the point where your guys Reviews and DMs will help drive the story into the direction that will work best. This is a story about the fans and I want the fans to be a part in its creation as much as possible.**

Amulet didn't like that Naruto had left. With someone who's powers were so adaptable, having them would imminently gave you a tactical advantage. Still it was the best option. They couldn't lose the only one on their team that could heal, and Soul and her had been paired together for a reason. A reason they have planned to take full advantage of.

The remaining group had left to go help out the team DB's team. They had talked about the bounts that they had encountered and the things that had happened during their time away. Eventually they had settled down for a nice dinner of pizza in their gigais. Dinner was actually quite civil, that is if you ignore the yelling, destroyed silverware, and the sheer amount of pizza that they ate. Everyone had at least one pizza per person. Tenchi got the most with 5 and Daphne had 3 and a half, splitting one with Soul who had only gotten one for themselves. They used the money they had been given at the start of the mission to pay for the food even though they really didn't need to eat.

"So the bounts," Amulet said, wiping the tomato sauce off of his face. "They were married you say?"

"Yeah, well that's what they said. But I don't really care to much about their relationship states. The point is the lady was strong and the guy was weird." Tenchi flicked a piece of burnt crust away. "He had like a ridding crop that he used to control his Doll which was like a blue light."

"Mh," Jim muttered. He was pretty tired but still felt like he needed to do something. "Where did you meet them?" he asked.

"Out by the train tracks." Mu responded "Why? You want to go after them?"

"It's more like I feel like we need to do something. I mean. Sitting here eating pizza is all nice and dandy but we're not getting anywhere."

"So what do you want to do then?" Daphne asked, giving him a little smirk.

Jim was about to respond when Tenchis phone went off. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hey Ten! It's me!" Naruto said loud enough for everyone to hear even though the sound was on the lowest volume. "Listen, something went down in the castle and now we have a Bount on our side. I think. I'm not really sure." Her voice dropped in volume so Tenchi held the phone out for other people to hear. She went on to explain the situation and a brief summary of his clan and the battle.

"That sounds really bad." Jim said, leaning over to the phone "Does Val need my help with anything?"

"No, no one was really hurt as far as I can tell but one of the bounts had this physiological ability so I want to see if I can help. Besides, none of the kings came out. So I don't think that we were ever in real danger of death."

"That's good to hear." Daphne said. "listen, we're going to go looking for the bounts hideout or any reason they think we want revenge."

"Wouldn't that be Laugh and her team?" Naruto asked.

"Wait what are we doing!" Mu asked loudly.

Daphne ignored her and continued on "But you just said that it was Matthias clans fault and that they don't interact with the others."

"I don't have the whole story and it sounds like Matthias doesn't either. It seemed like Lukas was doing things behind his back. Especial when concerning the objects." Naruto said. Suddenly there was a load crash and her voice went quiet "Listen, I have to go. Please come back soon. I feel like something big is going to happen and I don't like it."

"Alright. I'll send updates." Tenchi said, closing his phone. "Really Daphne, I hardy think we're in any condition to be going into enemy territory."

"Are we really doing this again?" Mu said in an annoyed tone. "You're not the boss of us."

Slowly Jim raised his hand "Um, I'm actually with Tenchi here. I don't think going to their house is a good idea."

"Oh please. We don't even know where they live. The most we can do is go to the fight areas and hope for the best." Daphne laughed.

No one talked as they gathered up their plates and went to their sleeping areas. Slowly Soul turned their head to DB, who had been leaning by the window the whole time. "What do you want?" he asked, not in an aggressive way though it may have seemed liked it to some people. "Oh right, you don't talk." He pulled out a flask and started drinking. "So, you up for a little investigating?" Soul shrugged and grabbed their soul candy.

DB didn't really know where he was going but he did have a general idea. The train tracks. Any idiot with a brain could see that it was the train tracks that connected everything. All the towns where the groups had been sent. The place where all the fights have been happening. Like really, just get on a train and see where it takes you and you'll probably find something. But they didn't take the train. The train hadn't been running ever scenes the _incident_ with the Bount named Vash. DB still wasn't really sure about what happen, he wasn't really sure about anything. Apparently there was someone named Lilly that was with the Bount but no one really mentioned her outside of that. Did they not bother to check if she was a Bount? Did they even check to see what happened to her?

He sighed rather loudly before checking to see if anyone else was going with them, even though he didn't brother to tell them where they were going, or even that they were leaving. He didn't really care. "Alright little shrimp, time to go." He and Soul shallowed their soul candy and left.

It wasn't that far to the tracks, especially when they flash stepped their way there. They stopped once they reached the tracks, "Well," DB said, "theses tracks go around in a circle shape, let's find the center."

Soul nodded and started walking over the tracks. The tracks went around a few small mountains that had a dips near the tops. According to the locals, there was a few buildings up on the mountains, mostly warehouses but one or two big houses. The main road up there was mostly used for fire trucks and looked like it hadn't been touched in years. "So Soul, where do you want to go?" he asked when they reached a cross road about a third of the way up the mountain they had chosen. Soul pointed left towards one of the warehouses. Mr. DB nodded and started to walk in that direction. He went a few feet before turning back to see that Soul wasn't following. Instead, they faced a different direction. They stood there for a moment before flash stepping up the mountain, completely ignoring the paths. "Really Soul." DB muttered before following them.

It took a while for him to catch up since Soul was so fast and had chosen to go through a thick part of the mountain. Finally, he stumbled through a few thick bushes and ran into Soul. "Oh," he said. Soul was standing in front of a half-buried warehouse that seemed to be built into the hillside. "Next time tell me where you're going." He sighed and headed forward to the building. Only to have Soul grab his arm and shake his head. "We came here; we're going in."

Soul tried to stop him but their short stancher did nothing but get them dragged along in the dirt. DB continued to march on and pushed on the door. It was locked but that didn't stop him. He quickly pulled out a lock picking kit form his uniform and opened the door. "Come on." He said, dragging Soul in.

The room they entered appeared to be a sitting room. There were multiple couches and chairs laid around the room. The dark walls and floors were covered in decorations that made the place feel lived in. There was a TV on the wall but few of the chairs were facing it. "Nice place." DB said, picking up a few books. "Odd taste in books but at least its consistent." He shrugged. "What's that?" he asked, looking over at the picture in Souls hand. The picture was old, like, first uses of color photography old.

"It's a family?" They said. The picture was of eight people, three sitting on a fancy couch and five standing behind them. The man on the couch DB recognized as Rodrick, who was wearing a black formal suit, and one of the two females sitting next to him was who Soul recognized as Lilly in a similar pink dress of when they first met her. The man standing behind Lilly was Vash, who looked uncomfortable in a formal suit. DB took the picture from Souls hand and continued to look at it. On the far right of the picture, standing in the back was Elizabeta, in a fancy green jump suit with a ribbon around her neck. Sitting in front of her, next to Rodrick was a girl dressed in a high waisted skirt and a blue blouse, she had curly wavy short blond hair and green eyes. Next to Vash was a tall man with spiky blond hair in a more casual suit then Rodrick and had a thick scarf around his neck and a cigarette in his mouth.

There were two more men standing in the back. Both seamed extremely important. The one on the left was a tall blond with slicked back hair and piercing blue eyes. The shorter one on the right had messy white hair and red eyes. The white-haired man was the only one in a brown colored suit. Soul took the frame from DB's hands and quickly pulled out their phone to take a picture of the photo before turning it over and reading the back. "Thanks for the temporary home. You're always welcome in ours. From Emma and Tim." It read before going to list the names of the people. "Back; Vash, Tim, Ludwig, Gilbert, Elizabeta. Couch; Lilly, Rodrick, Emma". There were other pictures and paintings on the walls, some of nature, others of the Bounts. One of which was of Rodrick and Elizabeta leading an army.

The duo wandered around building for a little bit longer and went upstairs. There were a few bedrooms on the second level and what looked like a play room for kids. The room was filled with toys and drawings but only one actually picture on the wall. It had seven kids in it, some looked older than others, the oldest looked about 17 and the youngest around 11. All of them were dressed in white and standing in a white room. The people in it were posited in a similar style as the picture down stairs. Four sitting on a modern red couch and three standing behind it. Well, one in the back was sitting on the top ledge and one in the front was not even facing the camera.

There was a bad drawing of the picture next it and a letter on a table. Soul didn't open it but the envelop did have something written on it "To the children, adopted or eternal youth." Soul took a picture of both of those that as well.

They were heading down stairs again when they heard the front door open. "Weird, I thought I locked it."

Soul tried to look around the corner of the stair case but DB pulled him back. He shook him head and pointed to the shadows that spread around the sides of the room. Slowly they crept along the wall and out the door and ran down the mountain.

It didn't take along to get back to the others. Once again, Tenchi was less than happy about what they did. Jim and Mu were more interested in the pictures they had taken, both of the photograph and of the building. "I hate to say it but I feel like we should call for back up." Mu said. "I mean if these pictures are anything to go by then we have quite a few more Bounts to deal with then we can realistically handle."

"Well some of those kids are adopted so I don't think they're bounts. And this Emma and Tim apparently don't live there." Jim said. "Naruto said that there was a Bount in the castle. He may not be a part of this clan but it doesn't hurt to ask.


	14. Ravens feathers, Wans colors

**Chapter 14! Ravens feathers, Wans colors**

 **Warning: drinking and depression (kind of)**

Ravens battle was disappointing to say the least, for everyone involved. Not only was she not happy how it turned out, she now had built up blood lust that she had no way to vent. Her fight may have ended with Mathias sending everyone away, but she did get a few swings in before that.

And by swings, she meant that her opponent nearly died.

That Doll was evil. It had made her relive her death and all she wanted to do was brake it. She had gotten pretty close to that to, almost destroying everything around her in the prosses. The black flames of her swords shone in the darkness as she rose from the ground.

Phycological attack, the gas the rifle released messed with someone's mind. It seemed to affect each person differently depending on their current level of reishi. The weaker the reishi, the worse the attack. Grabbing the Doll seemed to increase the effect of its power.

She kept having nightmares of the battle. She didn't know how long she slept. It could be a few months; it could be a few hours. She knew logically that it took a few hours to get in and got of the dream state but as her mind flickered in and out of reality she could see herself being picked up from the battlefield and carried into the medical ward where she had laid for who knows how long.

Her life, her death. She had to keep seeing it over and over in her mind and each time her Zanpaktou had to pull her out. Only for her to have to continue the fight with the Bount. The rifle was at her feet where she had dropped it and Rensa was by her side, but neither mattered at the moment. This _thing_ in front of her, it was going to die.

"I'm going to kill him." She kept repeating. Over and over again "I'm going to kill him." Her two swords swayed at her side, flickering in and out of existence.

Tino was all her focus was on, and he noticed. He tried to get away, he really did, but Raven knew what she was doing. She activated a shadow trap and bound the Bount in place. "Bankai" she smirked. "Shadō ōkami no joō." Her two blades fused together to a signal sword with one main pitch black blade and two silver crescent moon blades coming from the side. The shadows drew themselves around her and hid her from sight. She had not mastered her Bankai and it was extremely heavy so she had to do this right and make sure he died. Before she did.

The shadow were comforting to her, they cradled her and allowed her to create protection. The monsters she made to battle were her friends and feed off her emotions, making them more agitated and vicious. They pined the Bount down, tearing at his throat and chest. They did damage but it was not the kind of damage that Raven needed.

She called her monsters back to her side and increased the power of her trap. She slowly pushed the protective vale of darkness away from her and stepped out of her shadows. She held her blade out vertically to her chest and placed her hand against the Zanpaktou she concentrated all her power into the metal. She could feel her consciousness flicker but Raven did her best to ignore it. "Blast of the shadow moon." She commanded and sent out a dark wave of power. It was all she had and she didn't even get to see how it turned out.

Her memory in the form of a nightmare just kept repeating after that, always starting with her death and each time the shadows of her Zanpaktou got less and less comforting. By the time she finally snapped out of the cycle and was able to leave the medical hall, she didn't even want to talk to her sword. Or anyone really. She had locked herself in her room only coming out for food when people refused to bring it to her. She could use her shadow creations to make something to get food for her, but she simply didn't have the motivation to activate her sword.

The people around her weren't doing much better emotionally. Naruto seemed to be the only one who was the same happy go lucky as she was before, but she wasn't there for the battle and thus didn't feel the effects of Tinos gun. Her brother was there though, helping the weaker unseated and not on the battle field, but he was still there. The siblings were now busy working with those who needed help. Raven should probably go see them but she just couldn't bring herself to let them see her life.

That being said, her, Wan, and Tom were getting along very well. They both had a very similar experience to the Bounts as she did, an unfulfilled battle. Tom had spent a few days with Val to deal with the stab wounds that the bird had given him. Wan on the other hand, seemed to be more psychologically damaged than anyone else. He spent much of his time with Narutos brother or with them. He didn't want to sleep and drank a lot. More than Raven and that was concerning to her because she competed with DB whenever they had the chance.

He wouldn't drink with them and preferred to be alone. Raven often found him passed out and surrounded by empty cans and bottles. It was the only time he really slept anymore. He didn't want to dream and he didn't want to see him mind. The bleak swamp had been flooded and any chance of finding the spirit of his Bankai was lost. His spirits had been trying to pull him there when he slept, drinking was the best way to avoid it.

"Raven." He said weakly as he woke up with a hangover. His vision was blurry but he could make out her purple hair, which she had up in a tiny pony tail.

"Afternoon Wan." She said as she handed him a small bottle of some strange liquid. "You know the drill."

"Really?" He whined. He tried to push it away but she just poured it into his mouth.

"Don't fight it, you know it helps you." Raven said.

"Doesn't make it taste any better." His vision started to clear a little bit as the liquid helped with the dehydration. "Why do you make me take this?" he asked. Raven didn't respond, and instead chose to move away from the boy. "Raven?" he asked, but as he tried to stand, his vision started to swim. Wan tried to fight it, but the liquid just made him close his eyes again. This wasn't the normal stuff the Val made Raven give him, something was wrong.

He felt himself floating in the swamp water but he didn't want to open his eyes. His clothes were already soaking wet and the smell of dead fish assaulted his nose. He didn't want to face them.

"Oi! Brat! Open your eyes already!" Came a harsh voice. Ki was not the first thing he wanted to see when he came back, though, he did kind of deserve it considering how the fight went. "Oi!" he yelled, grabbing the collar on Wans uniform and dragging him up. "Stop mopping and start facing the truth! You wanted for me to make you stronger, so I did!" Wan opened his eyes, Ki's yellow glow was the only light in the dark world. Some of the trees reflected the color but most remained in shadows.

"You messes with my head. I don't even remember what happened." He growled "For all I know you could have possessed me and killed that Bount."

"Oh please, you know I can't take you over without your permission. Stop being so dramatic."

"Where's Ao?" Wan said, pushing himself out of Ki's grip. "Where's the other?"

"Where do you think? The same place where they always go when you pull this kind of stunt." He stomped on the water twice "They're beneath us, drowned in the waters you created." He laughed and launched forward, grabbing Wans skull and placing his thumb on his forehead.

Wan had to fight off the visions that were flashing before his eyes. There was so much blood. He could feel a foreign laughter bubble up through his throat. The Bount, Emil, was on the ground and not moving. He seemed like he was still conscious but not moving. The white glove on his hand, as well as his hair, was red with blood. Wan couldn't move his arms but for some reason, that didn't bother him. It almost felt reassuring as the metal of his blade morphed around is hands. He knew that Tom would be safe if he just got rid of this Bount.

Wan struggled to get out of what he was seeing but he could feel Ki's yellow Reishi push him back into his blocked memories.

The metal gantlets were cold against his bloody hands and gave off a dark feeling that flittered through his veins. He walked forward to the to the Bount with an evil smile in his face.

"Stop!" Wan yelled, trying to stop Ki from making him relive this.

There was blood. So much blood. The blood was pooling from his hands and the Bounts body.

"Ki!" came Ao's voice. "Ki stop this!"

Laughter filled the air.

"STOP!" Wan was pulled out of the vision and collapse to the ground. He could see Ao yelling at Ki but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He could barely feel the swamp water that surrounded him and pressed against half of his face.

He slowly felt himself sink beneath the water and into the depths of the swamp. He didn't have the energy to try and swim for the surface, maybe Ao would come and help him, or maybe he'll make up back with Raven. He would probably end up yelling at her for forcing him to do this so maybe he should just stay he for a little bit longer. Maybe he could just sleep here and not have to go back to the real world. He just floated in the dark water and let himself relax. It was so calm here, the green water was like a perfect balance of life.

He had no idea how long he floated there in still silence. He was completely contain with just staying there and never moving again. "Wan?" Came a week voice. "Wan wake up."

"Mh?"

"Wan, you need to wake up." The voice said again.

He let out a bubble of air "No." he said calmly. He didn't want to wake up, why would he do that?

"Wan, you need to wake up now. Your friends are getting worried."

Wan could hear chains rattling and faintly saw some bubbles floating thought the water. He drifted towards the source of the bubbles but couldn't see where they came from. "Who are you?" he asked.

Suddenly he dropped.

It felt like ever muscle in his body had relaxed at once, including his heart.

As he opened his eyes he saw Raven and Val. They were standing in the corner of one of the medical room that he was laying him. "Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Raven demanded in a joshed tone. "Tom has fallen asleep waiting for him." Wan shifted his eyes and saw Tom asleep in one of the chairs by the door. The bandages on his chest were exposed but overall he looked better than he did last time he saw him.

Wan opened his mouth to say something but found he couldn't move. His breath started to pick up but still no one noticed. _"Calm down"_ came the same green voice as he heard in his inner world. _"Don't worry, you're ok. But next time, please lay off the alcohol."_


	15. Don't step on the Lego

**Chapter 15! Don't step on the Lego**

It wasn't until a few more days had passed that Mathias felt comfortable enough to wander the halls of the castle. Rensa was made his shadow since he was one of the least physically involved in the battle. To everyone else he simply disappeared, but to him, he had his own battle to face.

"So," Mathias started "What's it like here?"

Rensa shrugged "It's kind of weird, but you get used to it. You find a lot of empty ice tea bottles laying around though."

Mathias nodded and continued to walk through the hall. They eventually ended up in the room with the beta fish. Rensa let him watch the fish as he went into the hallway to smoke. It was a bad habit if him that he picked up back when he was alive and never felt the need to get rid of it.

He was leaning up against the stone wall staring out an open window when he heard the footsteps pounding down the hall. "Sir!" came a squeaky little voice. Rensa turned his head to see somebody he didn't recognize an unseated officer probably, carrying a letter. Why would they use a letter and an unseated officer instead of a butterfly? "Sir I have a notice for you!"

Rensa held out a hand and took the letter. "Do you know what's in this?" he asked.

The substitution butterfly gave a small nod "Kind of, sir. It's a notice sent by the teams still out in the field."

"Seated or unseated?" Rensa asked. The seated took care of the bounts and thus the information would probably be important for him to read, while the unseated did more patrol than anything else. Some groups more suited for combated then others and one or two who had taken up learning healing from Val. If the notice was from them he would probably just throw it out.

"Seated sir."

"Stop calling me sir."

"Sorry sir." Rensa sighed, but the butterfly didn't seem to notice. "The notices had something to do with finding the enemy's base and an estimated number of opponents. I was told to tell you that there will be a meeting after dinner this evening."

Rensa was once again confused of why they didn't just put the thing on his plate but just shrugged and choice to ignore the weird choices.

It was then that Mathias came out of the room and nearly ran into the little boy. "Op, didn't see you there, sorry kid." He smiled.

The kid stared up at the Bount with wide eyes. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, until the little reaper stood on his toes and pulled a Lego out of Mathias hair and handed it to him. "Don't let this on the floor." He said before walking off.

Mathias smiled and waved before putting the Lego into his pocket. He looked over at Rensa and smiled. "What that?" he asked, referring to the notice.

"Don't know yet. Something to do with Bounts that don't like us." He shrugged and opened it. "You might want to come to the meeting later, they may not be your clan but they're still Bounts."

Mathias nodded and continued to wander down the hall. Rensa wandered with him and eventually they ended up in the garden. "Nice place you have here." He said awkwardly. Rensa nodded but said nothing. They ended up settling down at a stone table, Rensa pulled out a small book from his pocket and Mathias began to entertain himself by using the Legos in the Bounts pocket and hair to build a miniature version of the castle. It was quite impressive. By the time the sun had set, the castle was no longer the only Lego structure in existence. A number of other historically relevant cities were spread out on the table and in the grass.

Naruto skipped a crossed the grass but stopped when she saw the what they had built. Rensa put down the book and looked up at the blond girl. "Cool." She explained. "Hey, dinner is going to be served soon. Is he going to join us or what?"

Rensa glanced over at the Bount who was still building and nodded "I don't see why not."

"Tell him to clean that up before he leaves. Don't want anyone stepping on it." she smiled and disappeared into the foliage.

"How does she do that?" Mathias asked. "I mean, she doesn't exactly blend in."

Rensa shrugged and stood up to leave, Mathias quickly pushed himself off the ground where he was laying, quickly put up little flags around his creation, and followed. Together the two headed to the section of the wall with the door in it and headed up the stairs. The halls were more crowded than normal but Mathias presence seamed to upset many of the unseated because there was a bubble around them.

A literal bubble. As in one of the unseated officers had activated their Shikai and put a bubble around them. Mathias was entertained by the thing but Rensa quickly pulled out his sword and popped it. He glared at the idiot who tried to hide his sword, which looked like a bubble wand, and took a mental note to tell Atticus about it later. Hopefully they will throw him in the basement with the vampire king. It was rumored the Rad Tekking was killed one night down there during a poker game but then three days later he was spotted again in the kitchen.

By the time the two made it to the dining hall, everyone knew that Mathias was joining them. "Evening Rensa. Mathias." Val said as she took a bit of beef stew. "By any chance have either of you seen the king around lately?"

"No, not recently. Why?"

"Just wondering." She said quickly and turned her head down the table to ask for some bread.

Rensa shrugged and continued to eat. Dinner that night was pretty boring, the only thing interesting that happened was one of the unseated officers got suck up in the rafters and that entertainment only lasted about a few seconds. Everyone just seamed sad it was really annoying.

Finally, dinner was over and the crew made their way to the meeting hall. There, the remaining officers that had been out on a job, met them. Slowly they all settled down and waited for Atticus and King to enter and take their place.

However, it was only Atticus who showed up. He silently looked around to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be before starting. "First off I would like to welcome back everyone who has been away. As you can probably tell, a lot and a little has happened since you were last here. We now have a Bount living with us and he has agreed to help us in future conflicts if possible. Any information that he is aware of will be given, in return he asked that you treat him with respect." Mathias stood up and waved with a goofy smile before sitting back down again. "Soul and DB, I understand that you have recovered substantial information regarding the clan of bounts you encountered earlier."

DB stood up and nodded while Soul pulled up the photos they took. "We managed to find the Bounts base and while none where there at the time, we have a good idea of how many there are."

Soul flicked through the picture until they stopped on the one taken in the children's room. "Stop!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the photo. "Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this?" she asked. "That man. The one with his back to the camera and a bird in his hand. Doesn't he look familiar?" No one really said anything, the guys back was to the camera, you could barely see his face, how were they supposed to recognize him. Naruto sighed and continued to point. "That was the inspector who came here the day we left."

Jim leaned forward and squinted. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Hey Mathias, who's this?"

Mathias paused for a minute "Uh, I believe that's Hutt, but he lives in Australia along with that little girl with brown hair. So I don't see any reason why they would be here."

"No!" Naruto insisted "I swear its him!" She shot her head over to the Bount. "Do you have a better picture of him?"

"No, I'm sorry. I've never actually never met him. I only know who that is because that red head with a scar on his face, standing by the lamp is being taken care of my Berwald."

"Um, who's that kid with the sailor's hat?" Sky asked.

"Peter." Mathias responded. "It took a bit, but after being passed through a couple of hands he ended up with us."

"He looked just like Berwald's Doll."

Mathias was quiet for moment. "That's because Peter was killed before Berwald discovered his Doll." He said blankly. "Berwald never showed much emotion but it was very clear that it hurt him. It hurt all of us." No one said anything, they didn't know what to say. "But you said that Hutt looked like someone you knew. Do you have a picture I could look at to confirm it's the same guy?"

"I'm sure we can find something." Atticus cut in "Do you think that he may be a threat to us in the future?"

"I doubt it, none of those kids have a Doll. Some of them are achually human that we had to be taken in due to… circumstances." He trailed off.

Soul nodded and continued through the photos. Mathias was able to identify every Bount and attempted to explain their Dolls powers. "So, like, Vash's Doll really just summoned a black thing, I don't really know how strong it was but I'm glad I never had to fight it. Liz's was a shape shifting sludge, the thing itself isn't very strong and had a few week points that can make the thing fall apart if hit correctly. I never understood what Rodrick's did but I know that the thing is based on light and that he depends on that little pointy thingy he carries around."

"What about the other two?" Atticus asked. "I believe Sky saw the white head one talking to Berwald."

"Gilbert. He and Ludwig are seen as leaders of the clan but I don't know who is the head. I don't know either of their Dolls but I know Ludwig didn't get his Doll until after he married so his object has to be fairly new."

Naruto, who had sat down by that point, asked "When did he get married?"

"WWII."

"Ah." She said in mild surprise. Sure, she was old, but she was also dead. "I guess that would be resent for you."

Amulet turned her head down the table "How old are you?"

"I was there when the Vikings ruled the sea." He smiled. "If you guys didn't already have a king I would ask for you to call me your highness." He said with pride and posed. He paused, as if he was expecting someone to react. He opened his eyes and looked around, but then deflated. Rensa, who was sitting next to him saw him mouth the word 'Lukas' but choose to ignore it.

"We have a Captain." Atticus said. "Not a king."

"Then why do you call him that?"

The Lieutenant sighed. "Its more of a nickname. His name is Matthew but he goes by Tekking. People here just tend to call him king."

Mathias shrugged and continued on speaking. The meeting went on a little bit longer before everyone got up and headed to their beds. Mathias has bunking with Rensa and Enzi and a sheer matter that he didn't want to be left alone.

Enzi was attempting to undo the braid that Naruto had added to his hair at some point during the day and Rensa was watering his plant. "Today was, interesting." Enzi attempted. "Can't say much happened but it's nice to have a day where all you do is sleep."

Rensa sent a slight glare at the pink haired boy. "Do you still have your map?" he asked.

"You mean the one we got on the first day?"

"Yeah, give it to spikes over here, I don't want him getting lost."

"Aw," Mathias started "You care."

"No, I just don't want you burning down the castle."

"It's made of stone." Enzi mutter, brushing his hair before rolling over into bed.

"Don't underestimate the power of fire." Mathias responded before turning off the lights and attempting to get into bed. Only to tripped in the dark. "I'm ok."


	16. The demon arts

**Chapter 16! The demon arts**

Birds. Fucking birds.

Laugh rolled over in bed and threw a spar pillow at the window. "Ung." Neo groaned. "What do you want Laugh?"

"What?"

"Why did you throw your pillow at me?"

"I was trying to shut the birds up."

"By throwing it at me?" he asked. There was no response "Laugh?" nothing "And your asleep." He sighed and rolled out of bed. Laugh didn't get into their room until well after midnight so it was no surprise she didn't want to be awake. But he was. No use going back to sleep if he was already awake. Slowly he trudged to the bathroom and began to get ready for the day. He actually took longer than his partner to get ready in the morning so it was best he started as soon as he woke up.

Slowly he turned on the shower and stepped in. As the warm water flowed over his body he touched the scars on his chest. Those dame Bounts. What worried him the most was that if he went off what the Bount Lukas has said, it was most likely that Mathias was the one who had attacked and nearly killed them. He wanted return the favor and make sure no one else in the squad was hurt as well. He didn't want Mathias to stay in the castle with them, but he didn't have much say in the mater.

He let out a long breath and let the thought slip from his mind, he had told Atticus and the kings copies but it didn't seem like they cared. It had become a silent agreement between Atticus and Val to not let his team go on any missions. Not after what happened on the last one. But really, it seemed rather stupid of them to just ignore the fact that a Bount had pretty just crushed on of the highest-ranking teams in squad 101. And now the same Bount was walking among them.

After washing his hair three times, Neo stepped out of the shower and got dressed. Laugh was still in bed and probably asleep by the time he slipped out of the room and started walking down the hall. The sun had only just begun to rise so being one of the few awake wasn't that big of a surprise. And since breakfast wasn't going to begin for another half an hour, Neo just ended up wandering down to the Kido training fields.

There, sitting on top of one of the corner benches reading a black book, was Daphne. "Morning." He said, taking aim at one of the targets. She didn't respond, to focused to really acknowledged his presence. Neo wasn't the best at kido, in all honestly he kind of sucked. He could only sendoff weaker spells and they barley did any damage. The target dummies only smoked slightly when one made contact. After a while of continuously blasting the dummy and not being able to blow it up, Neo turned to the Latino. "Daphne?" he asked loudly, trying to get her to look up from the book.

"Yes?" she said lazily.

"What was your life like in the Soul Society?"

Daphne put her book down and looked at him. "I already told you, no squad wanted me."

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that." He said, placing his hand on his hip. "Your seam so interested in kido, some division must have at least looked at you. I bet the third and first might have really been a shot for you. What's the real story?" Daphne sighed and stood up to try and leave the field but Neo just flash stepped in front of her. "Daphne, you can tell me. It's not like you don't have any black mail on me. So, you can always keep me to my word." He smiled. Ok, so maybe he wasn't that good at gambling either, it's just a past time. That and Daphne and Raven had teamed up on him.

She didn't say anything for a moment, seemly debating whether or not to try and punch her way through the third seat. Quickly giving up on that idea she sighed. "I was never considered by any squad because I was eligible for joining the kido corp."

To say the third seat was a little bit surprised was an understatement. The kido corp was a mysterious thing that very little was known about. Only the weakest of the corp was permitted to walk in public, and they had to cover their faces and only go out on missions. To know someone who was even considered for it, to imagine the power they must be capable of, it was mind blowing.

"Can I go now?" she asked impatiently.

"What about that book in your hands?"

"Found it in the library."

"Then how come you're not letting anyone else look at it?" he continued to ask.

"There's forbidding kido in here Neo. Stuff that can get you killed for using. Do you really want me to just go hand this off to some no name, unseated officer, who is going to get us all in trouble?"

"And you really think that its ok to hoard all this knowledge to yourself?" He asked.

Daphne didn't say anything. She didn't feel like she had to. "I'm not hoarding it. I return it to the library when its due and check it out a few days later. If someone really wanted to, they could read it. You have no right to take this book away from me." With a glare Daphne turned in her heals and took aim at one of the targets with her free hand. "Hadō 94, San bakufū!" she yelled. A sickening dark green blast shot forth and as soon as it touched the target, the thing began to melt and turn to sludge. Daphne turned and smirked at Neo "Never seen that one before, have you?" she asked in a snarky tone.

"I- where did you learn that?" he asked. "In that book?"

"No, I had to already know it to even be considered for the corp."

Now that made Neo do a double take. "You learned that while you were still in the Academy?"

"Yeah. You learned your Shiki while you still in the Academy." She said simply. "Most officers in the Soul Society don't learn theirs until decades after they graduate."

"You know it strange," he laughed "Most of us have a Bankai and yet I'll place money that the none of us have only been training to be a reaper for five years, tops."

"Its support to take ten years to master a Bankai."

"I would hardly call any of our Bankais mastered." He laughed. "That's probably why everyone's so eager to release them, to practice."

Daphne looked at him, still holding her book close to her chest. "How are you so happy?" she asked.

"Mh, I more just believe in trying to lighten the mood. No use having everyone mope around doing nothing." He said, choosing to move past her and taking aim at a none destroyed target.

"You did the right thing you know." She said "Letting them get away."

"Doesn't feel like it." Neo sighed, setting of a weak kido. "But no use regretting it now. What's done is done."

"But try to think about it from the Bounts perspective. You hurt one of them, they only wanted to repay the feeling." She said "Do you remember what happened? On the first mission?"

"Not really. But I know one of the last things I saw was Mathias on the ground bleeding out. I thought we killed him. I guess I was wrong."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, leaning up against a post that held up that awning. She glanced down at Neos feet "Move your left foot a little to the right, it will help stabilize your stance and let you put more power into you spells." Suddenly a little bird flew into the kido range. Neo stopped what he was doing and held out his hand for the bird to land on. "Cute. Real cute Neo. If you're not going to practice then can we please go eat?"

"Mh?" he asked, petting the little birds head. "Yeah sure?"

The little bird stayed with him as they moved back inside and went to get breakfast. The small of food was just beginning to creep out of the kitchen, but that was alright. Neo went to sit down at the table while Daphne went to get some food. "Morning guys." Val said as she wandered in not long after them.

"Morning Val." Daphne smiled, handing both the medic and the third seat a plate of warm food.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"Rough night?" Neo asked as he fed the bird some toast. "You look exhausted, that's why I asked."

Val just nodded and began to ate. A few minutes later Laugh trudged in and took her place beside Neo, not even bothering to get food. The bird fluttered up and let her lean her head against Neos shoulder before landing on her hair. "Neo?" She said slowly "Why is there a fucking bird on my head?"

"Oh, it followed me in from outside."

"Can you get it off me?" Laugh asked.

Neo raised his other arm to try and cots the bird onto his finger but the thing refused. "Sorry partner, but it doesn't seem to want to get off."

"Mh." She mumbled. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at Val and Daphne across from them. "What are you reading?" she asked Daphne.

"A book about kido." Neo answered. "Do you want me to get you some food or something?"

"She's not supposed to eat anything till noon." Val cut in, leaning over to try and read Daphne's book. "Is there any Kaidō in there?" she asked.

"No. But there is some kido that transferred Reishi to the target."

"Oh let me see." Val said, scooting closer the Daphne.

Neo turned his head over to stare at the top of Laughs head "What did you do last night?" he asked, concerned.

"Training." she sighed "I went a little over board."

"A little?" Val said loudly "Laugh, an unseated officer had to come up to my room in the middle of the night because he was woken up by an explosion and saw your unconscious outside his window. You really should stop trying to mix kido with your Bankai."

Daphne looked over to the tired third seat "What kind of kido were you using?"

"Nothing fancy," she shrugged "just a basic barrier."

"How did that cause an explosion if it was 'just a basic barrier'?" Neo asked.

"I have no idea." She sighed and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before her breathing began to shift into a steady, even pattern.

"Val? Can you tell me what happened?" he asked quickly so not to wake the girl up.

"I'm not entirely sure of what she was doing but it caused the spiritual pressure around her expand at a very dangerous rate and that caused her to lose control of whatever she was doing and together the things somehow created a spiritual bomb." Neo nodded and filed that little bit of information for later.

Soon the dining hall was filled with people looking for food and entertainment. As usual they got both and some poor kid got duck taped to the wall 8 feet up. But Neo didn't stay for all that, he quickly finished eating and shifted Laugh into his arms. He had decided to move his partner back up to their room before things went to hell.

As he exited his room to head back down to the lower levels of the castle, he ran into Atticus. Like literally ran into. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." Neo apologized as he helped the vice-captain up from the floor.

"It's fine. I wasn't looking either." He smiled and dusted himself off. "You off to breakfast?"

"Actually I just came from there. Laugh fell asleep at the table and I'd figure it would be best if I got her back up here before she ends up with a plate of food in her face."

Atticus nodded and they walked down the stairs together. "Neo. How would you feel about going on a mission?


	17. Training of the Death

**Chapter 17! Training of the Death**

Det was sitting in a tree when he got the news. "Detracost!" Laugh yelled, running across the field to him. She was about half way between the castle and the tree when she tripped and landed on her face. Only to get right back up again and continue running. "Det!"

Det opened his eyes and removed his headphones but didn't looked down at the girl and instead kept his eyes on the sky. "Yes Laughing Panda?" he asked in a lazy tone. He had been busy meditating and really didn't want to be in the real world at the moment.

"Guess what Atticus just gave me?" Laugh giggled and she swayed to a stop underneath the bare branches.

Det shrugged, "A stuffed animal?" he guessed. Laugh liked cute things so why not.

"NO!" she yelled "Guess again."

Det glanced down at her and saw that the girl had dyed her hair again, this time it was brown with blue highlights in the front. "Hair dye?" he said, raising an eye brow. Outside of missions, the Shinigami didn't get to wander the towns too much.

"Nope."

"What then?" Laugh jumped up into the tree and seated herself on a branch next to him. She pulled out a small file that she had hidden under her uniform. "What's that?"

"This, my white-haired friends, is our next mission."

Det leaned forward on his branch and took the file from her hand. "Atticus is letting us go on a mission?" he asked in slight disbelief.

"Mh, kind of. It's not support to be an action based mission but there is a chance of conflict."

"How big of a chance?" he asked cautiously.

"Not much but At is worried that it could get ugly."

"So what are we doing?"

"We are going from town to town connecting the dots. If we don't find anything then we are supposed to call for Mathias and go to the location of our first mission."

"Is that for our memories?"

Laugh shrugged "I'm not actually sure. I really don't think so but I you never know."

Det nodded and sat still for a while, soon Laugh got bored and left Det to him meditation. He pulled his headphones back on and continued to watch the sun going across the sky.

" _Detracost_." Came the harsh voice of the boys Zanpaktou. _"I don't think it's time yet."_

"Kyōki. It's not like I have a choice here. It's either this or nothing and you know why that can't happen."

" _Your body can't handle it. Your movement has already dropped dramatically since your arrival in the human world. I don't want you to lose everything on a chance."_

"If Mu can do it why can't I?"

" _She can't Det. Why do you think you haven't seen her lately?"_

Det sighed and started to push up from his position in the tree, breaking the meditation "We'll talk about this later." He said as his stomach started to growl. He decided to move back inside to get something to eat. Nothing fancy but something filling.

As he grabbed his plate with an egg sandwich and snacks he ran into Val and Daphne. "Afternoon." He said.

"Afternoon Det." Val responded "Have you seen Laugh today?"

"Yeah, I was just talking to her not to long before coming here. Why?"

"Well," the medic sighed "I was treating her last night and didn't let her eat this morning. She was supposed to take her medicine with lunch but she hasn't come by my office to pick it up and I can't find her anywhere."

"You can't find her Reishi?"

Daphne shook her head "She's surprisingly good at surprising it."

"Well then look for Neo, they don't like being apart from each other, If she's not with him he would know where she is." Val nodded and left to try and find the duo. "Hey Daphne?"

"Yeah?"

"I actually have a question to ask you." She nodded and he went on "Can you teach me Kido?"

"Did you not learn in the Academy?"

"Kind of. They threw a book at us and told us to memorize it. I hardly consider that learning. I know a lot of them but I can't do any of them. I was talking to some of the others and the highest most of them can go is Hadō #31 Shakkahō."

"And you think that if I teach you, you will get better." She gave a little chuckle. "Det, not everyone is able to produce kido. It required an immense amount of control and understanding of what it is that you're doing. Just because you know the spells doesn't mean I can teach you." Det didn't say anything, he just stood there.

"Please."

"I'll think about it." she sighed.

Det nodded and sat down to eat. It was an interesting idea; Kido was sort of a dying art back in the Soul Society and it would be cool it bring it back in the squad of the outcasts. Plus, Daphne was almost a part of the kido corps, so she should be more then qualified to teach.

Det was one of the few people in the dining hall, not surprising since it was 3 in the afternoon. Daphne left as soon as their conversation finished. He sat at the table alone, just eating. He didn't like it. He quickly shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and left. He didn't like being alone, not when he was in a place that normally held so many people. He could meditate in a tree but he couldn't eat alone.

He wandered around the castle for a few hours, talking to a few unseated officers and whoever else ran his way. He really didn't have anything to do. So he went to go get ready for the mission. He didn't have much to do but it kept him busy.

Soon there was a knock at his door. "Come in."

"Can I hide in here?"

Det turned around and saw his teammate sliding into the room. "Laugh?"

"Yeah, hi. Can I hide in here?"

"What? No. Laugh you need to go take your medicine." He said, trying to shove the girl out the door.

"But that stuff taste disgusting." She wined "Besides, Naruto kicked me out of her room."

"Why?"

"I kept bring up the inspector." She shrugged. "Apparently, she and Atticus keep getting in fights about it. From what I understand Atticus is looking into it but Naruto keeps trying to push it and trying to track the man down. I heard she is even is trying to get Mathias to agree for her to look through his memory but since he's never met the guy, I don't know what that would accomplish."

"If he's never met the guy then how does he know what he looks like?"

"Probably pictures." He shrugged and there was another knock at the door and Laugh quickly disappeared. "Come in." he said.

"Hey Det." Val smiled as she entered the room "Is Laugh in here?"

"Yeah, she under Sky's bed." Val nodded and grabbed the third seats arm and dragged her out of the room.

"You traitor." She growled as Det smiled and waved. Soon the door closed and he was alone again. It wasn't long before he had to turn up the volume in his headphones just to drown out the silence.

After he finished everything he could possibly do, he left the shared room and went to find someone. Anyone. The first Reishi signatures that came into his range was actually his roommates who were out in the yard. Det jumped out the closest window and ran to the duo. They were arguing about the proper way to annoy someone to death. Honestly sometimes Det worried about their mental state.

"You two really thing you're going be alive for much longer if you go through with that?" Det asked.

"I think I'll live for another decade or so as long as I know who not to piss off." Wan smirked.

"Great." Det groaned "What about you Sky?"

"I know how to cover my tracks thank you very much." He said, pushing a piece of brown hair out of his face. It was out of its usual pony tail and hung lose and stuck up in the weirdest places. "But what about you Det, I heard you're going on a mission for the first time in a while."

"Yeah, I don't actually know what we're doing but it will be nice to get out again." Sky nodded and went back to talking with Wan. Det, having nothing better to do, listened in on the conversation and added his two sense when it mattered.

The sun was just beginning to set when a little black butterfly fly down on them and landed on the shortest of the three. All three of them shut up as Det listened to what the incest had to say. "Hey, do you guys mind coming to Kido lessons with me tonight?" he asked awkwardly.

"Who are you taking lessons from?" Wan asked.

"Daphne." Wan stood still for a few seconds, staring off into space. "Are you ok?" Det asked.

"Yeah," he shook his head. "It's just I have a devil and an angle on my shoulder and their telling me the same thing." He laughed "I'm not sure what to do."

Det nodded, Wan had told him about his spirits. "It's a good thing, right? It means your finally finding harmony."

"Sure."

"So is that a yes?" Sky asked "Cause I'm going. I suck at Kido. This one time at the academy I accidently blew up a classroom trying to learn Sai." He laughed.

Wan shook his head "I don't even want to know." he sighed "But yeah, I'll come."

The three walked back to the castle together and quickly dashed up the stairs to get to dinner before it went cold. Or, at least Wan and Sky did. Det couldn't run up the stairs and instead had to pull himself up using the railings. "Why are you guys always running?"

Sky shrugged and trotted down the stairs to pick the struggling Shinigami "Because even a blunt object can be turned into a knife if you add enough speed."

Det just sighed at his roommate's philosophy. While it was true, it didn't make it any less pretty to imagine. Sky flash stepped up the stairs and started running down the halls. Until suddenly they stopped, Det could feel the pain in his neck forming from the whip lash. "Oh hey Tom." Sky smiled. Really, they had stopped to chat?

"Hey Sky, Wan, Det." The 13th seat said. "You still up for that fight tonight?" he asked Wan.

He shrugged "Cant. I promised Det here I would come to his kido training tonight."

"Um" Det butted in "You can put me down now." He said quietly to Sky.

"Oh right sorry." Sky said and put the boy down.

"Hey Sky. Can you make sure Det can get to the dining hall? I need to talk to Tom for a bit." Sky nodded and the two disappeared. "Really Tom? I told you not to talk about that in front of people."

"What? That I've been helping you train. I don't get what's the big deal about that. Were warriors. We fight." He gave a small chuckle "Hell, you could even say we're knights."

"Do don't exactly fit the description."

"Why? We serve a king; we fight with swords. I think it's funny."

"That's not the point. Tom." Wan growled "I don't want people to know so I asked you to keep it a secret."

"Sure, and you sneaking out in the middle of the night is doing so much better then what I am." Tom sneered. "So you're not coming tonight?"

"I already told you I have to go to kido training."

"Sound fun. I might just join you."

"No you're not." Wan said sternly. "This is Dets training and her asked us to come along to keep him company. You are not welcomed."

"We'll see." He smiled and disappeared down the hall.

Wan sighed, he had no desire to eat anymore so he might as well just go back up to his room or go hunt someone down to play a videogame with or something. Maybe he could go meditate. He wanted to see if he was any closer to reaching the green figure that lived at the bottom of the swamp. Maybe.


	18. Burning Desire

**Chapter 18! Burning Desire**

Every common man would eventually have to face one decision that would change their life. For a Shinigami, that kind of decision happens almost every day.

"Look out!"

Because when you're in constant danger

"NEO!"

Even an extra breath

"Bankai!"

Could cost you your life.

* * *

Det woke up with a start breathing heavily. "Det?" came a sleepy voice. "What's that matter?"

"Nothing Sky, go back to sleep." He said and turned to face Wan. Only he wasn't there. "Sky, where's Wan?"

"What do you mean?" He asked "Isn't he in bed?"

"No."

"Bathroom?"

Det turned his head to the bathroom door "No."

Sky opened his blue eyes, which seemed to glow in the night "He went to bed at the same time as us." He mumbled as he got out of bed and went to check out the covers "It's cold. He obviously hasn't been here for a while so he probably left right after we fell asleep."

Det got out of bed as well and felt a breeze. "The windows open." He said and pulled on a shirt. "Wan doesn't seem to be the type to jump out a window."

"Do you think he was kidnapped?" Det gave him a look "What?"

"Do you really think that a Soul reaper could get kidnapped in a room full of other reapers? I can't sense any sigh of a kido or any lingering spiritual energy other than ours."

"Do you see any other option? Cause if he didn't want to wake us then he could have just used the door and not leave the window open." Sky complained and grabbed a white shirt. "Should we follow?"

Det nodded and pulled his Zanpaktou out from out from under his pillows. Sky did the same, getting his out from between his bed cushions. Sky also checked under Wans bed to see if his swords was there. It wasn't.

Once the two were ready they jumped out of the window and followed the faint trail of Reishi that Wan left behind. It was a short journey, leading them just over a few hills over and into a crater like area. They didn't see anyone there at first, just an empty pit in the ground. That was until a flash of fire filled their vision and scorched the grass in front of them causing Det stumbled back. Sky caught him and pushed his back onto his feet. "Be careful." He whispered and dragged him behind a bundle of trees.

Det stuck his heads out again to try and get a look at what was going on.

"Focus!" Tom yelled as he stopped in the middle of the hole and waited. He had a sick smile glued onto his face and flames glinting in his eyes. "Don't let your control slip!" it sounded like he was scolding him but it came off in more of a twisted way.

Wan slid to a stop and nearly tripped but stopped himself "I'm trying." He panted. He was cover in blood but it was unclear whether or not it was his. Tom didn't have a scratch on him so that didn't leave that many other options. Both had released their Shikai.

"Stop trying and start doing." Tom yelled and disappeared, leaving a growing patch of flames in his wake. Wan didn't move, instead he tried to steady his breath and tried to look around.

Sky pushed his head out from behind the tree "Where is that fire coming from?" he asked.

Det shrugged and felt the reiatsu in the air "It feels like a kido but not like anyone I know of."

Slowly Wan began to pace around in crater, his blade glowing but the color kept shifting between yellow, blue, and green. Suddenly a blast of fire shot towards the back of Shinigami. Wan spun around and stabbed his sword into the ground to create a shield just big enough to protect himself and a few patches of dirt behind him. The shield shifted yellow and stayed that way much longer than any other color. "Focus!" Tom yelled, stopping in front of the tree that Sky and Det were hiding behind at the top of the pit. Both of them pulled their head back and held their breaths. "At this rate you will never succeed!"

"Shut up!" Wan yelled, charging at him.

Tom just sighed and blocked it using he meat cleaver. "You're not going to get anywhere if you keep acting like this." He growled "Fucking focus or just give up!" he blocked another attack and took a swing at Wans' shoulder. He managed to mostly get out of the way but Tom still got in a small nick right on the collar bone.

"I can't focus." He pleaded.

"Then forget." Tom said simply before attacking again, forcing Wan on the defensive. The extra glow was shorter than it should have been. Instead of adding a couple extra feet to it, the Zanpaktou only had a few extra inches. This seemed to be purposeful because just when Tom had closed in on the sixth seat, the color shifting glow shot out and would have impaled Tom through his spine if had not pushed himself to the side. The blade still went through his flesh, but not nearly as bad as it would have been. Tom just laughed "Good." He smiled and attacked with his meat cleaver.

Wan tried to bring up his sword to block but it was stuck. The short few moments that it took him to shrink the glowing blade had given Tom just enough time to bring his arm up and make contact.

The cut went across the left side of his face from just under his cheek bone to his jaw line. It was deep but not deep enough to completely cut through.

Both of the Shinigami took a step back for a breath. Det wasn't really sure what to do. Sky wouldn't let him interfere with the training but he couldn't just leave. Tom probably knew that they were watching but Wan didn't, would he be mad?

Det didn't have time to think because they were off again. Wan charged at Tom, extending his sword to its complete length and using it in a similar style as a staff. He pushed into Tom at each hit. Left, right, he flipped and attacked from behind. Tom blocked all of these and soon knocked him back with another weird fire kido.

Wan would have been pushed out of the crater if he had not shoved his sword into the ground to stop himself. Inadvertently creating a barrier which ended up saving him from a number of fire bolts that had followed him. He tried to attack again, aiming right for his enemy's heart.

Tom didn't bother raising his sword to defend himself. Instead he reached up and grabbed tip of the Zanpaktou, completely ignoring the fact that the shifting colored blade had cut open his hand. Wan tried to rip his sword out of Toms hand but only succeeded in making the wound deeper. Toms black eyes barley spared a glance at the blood. He smiled, only causing Wan to panic further and continued to struggle. "Let go!" he cried.

Toms smile dropped and pushed the blade behind him, forcing Wan to be drawn close. Tom punched him in the face before letting go of the swords and letting him drop. "The only reason I agreed to this was because I wanted to fight someone who was somewhat competent at what we are supposed to be masters at. But if you're just going to sit there and piss your pants then I see no reason for continuing this little show." He scoffed and turned to leave.

Wan didn't get up. He didn't move. Det tried to go help him but Sky held him back, shaking his head, "Not yet. He's not done." He said. Det looked out into the burning crater and on the body of their roommate.

Tom continued walking back toward the top of the crater, resealing his sword as he went. Wan began to move and push himself off the ground. He sluggishly reached for his sword and walked towards Tom. That walk slowly became a run as he headed full speed for the unarmed man's back.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tom swung around and kicked Wan in the face. Right where the cut was.

Wan tumbled down the slope and into the center of the crater. Tom let out a huff "Nice shot." He smiled "See you here tomorrow. Maybe you can actually focus next time." He snapped his fingers and all the flames most of the flames went out, leaving only enough to light the dark field.

As Tom disappeared into the darkness, Sky and Det ran into the light. "Wan." Det said as he rolled the male onto his back to check his pulse. "He's alive."

"I seriously doubt Tom would go so far as to kill him but we better get him back to the castle anyways." Sky reached down and picked Wan up bridal style.

They walked back instead of flash stepping, not wanting to risk aggravating the injuries with the friction created by the speed. Det used a small ball of reiatsu to create enough light that they didn't get lost on their way back. They didn't know what time it was but there was absolutely no natural light left in the sky. Not even the stars were visible.

It wasn't long before Det was knocking on the medic door and waiting for Val or Jim or some random kid to open it. When no one answered, he opened the door and found Jim asleep at the desk with a thick book placed under a small lamp. As Det woke him up, Sky went to place Wan on a bed. "Again?" he mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Has this has happened before?" Sky asked.

"The past few nights, normally its Tom that brings him back. Are your guys training as well now?"

"No." Det shook his head "We just followed."

Jim nodded and went to work. "Nothing serious," he said checking over the injuries and making sure there weren't any broken bones "I can have him back in a couple of hours."

Det sat himself down at one of the spare seats and looked at the books on the table. "So, this book tells you how to fix him back to the way he was before he got into that fight?"

"Yeah. Val can do it faster than I can but as long as it's not more serious than a broken bone I can get it was good as new."

"So outside of the obvious," Sky gestured to the blood-soaked sheets "what's wrong with him?"

"A concussion, three cracked teeth, a cracked jaw bone, and blood lose. Outside of the cuts and a few minor burns," he shrugged "that's it. Easy fix." He looked over at Sky, more specifically his cloths. "You might want to get changed before you go back to sleep. There's spares in the bin next under the desk." Sky nodded and took off his shirt before rumbling through the bin to find something. He quickly put on an oversize jacket and put it on. "Either burn it or clean it. Don't let it dry." Sky left to burn his old shirt, leaving Det alone with Jim and Wan. Jim kept himself busy by filling a few vials with blood and corking them shut. "Can you take these to the R&D department to get it tested?" he asked, handing him the glass tubes.

"R&D?"

"Research and Development."

"We have that?" Det asked.

"Yeah, its two floors up directly above us." He waved his hands "Just take the stairs in the main entrance and then use the small side stairs on the left."

Det nodded and left. He was tired and wanted to go back to bed but he was worried about Wan. If training had been so important for him that he got this injured every night, then why had he hid it from them? While it was true that they weren't teammates, he should have at least heard about it at some point. He sighed and walked up the stairs. The castle was dark and he had to keep a small kido ball of light in one hand and the vials in the other.

He ran into Sky on the way to the second set of stairs and handed him the vials of blood, and together they walked silently through the darkness.

As they reached the top of the second set of stairs, Det noticed the light in the hall became lighter. Soon they came to the door that had handing light overhead and knocked. The sliding peephole opened and two missed colored eyes stared through. The harsh green and pitch black were very odd seeing next to each other. "Who are you?" the person asked. There were mumbles from behind the door and he corrected himself "State your name, rank, and reason for being here."

"My name Sky Crown, I'm the 7th seat of squad 101

"And I'm the 9th seat Detracost Bleachre. We came with blood from the medic ward to get tested."

"The 9th seats name is Detracost Bleacher. You are not him." They said bluntly and slammed the medal slot shut.

Det sighed and knocked again. "What do you want?" asked the bicolored eyes. Again, there where mumbled, but this time loader.

Det readied his Zanpaktou and repeated. Just as the person was going to slam the slip shut again Det shoved the handle of his sword into opening. Silently apologizing to his spirit in the process. "My name is Bleachre. Captain King simply mispronounced it when he was lifting off the names and was never corrected."

"His name is Mat." The person said. There were shots from behind the door and the person with the bicolored eyes sighed. A hand reached up and pushed the sword back towards Det before closing the slot. There was the sound of many, many locks being opened up was audible through the metal door, along with something being pushed out of the way. The door slowly opened and a very short kid appeared behind it. The kid was about half the height of Det, way too short to be able to even reach the peephole. Det glanced to the ground, just inside the door was a step stool. "Only one of you can come in." The kid glared.

"I'll go." Sky smiled "You go be with Wan when he wakes up. He deserves that much."

Det nodded and disappeared down the hall, just as Sky slipped inside the metal door.


	19. Everybody's night

**Chapter 19! Everybody's night**

Mu had returned to the castle along with the rest of her team, but she had remained silent for most of the time outside her room, she rarely left her room anymore. Daphne spent a lot of time with her along with XV when she wasn't busy treating Wan. Yeah, she knew about what Wan and Tom was doing. She also knew what just about everyone else was doing in preparations for whatever they thought was coming. It was amazing what she found out when she had nothing better to do.

She slept a lot during the day and spent the nights with Raven. It was the nights that kept her sane. Sometimes Raven got her out of the room and into the darkness of the night. It was then that Raven was at her strongest and she had no problem showing that off. While Mu couldn't join her, she enjoyed the creation that Raven could bring out using her shadows. After a while she did create small sparks on occasions, the light created by them weakened Raven so she quickly stopped.

It was on one of those nights that the two were joined by a visitor. Well, not really a visitor. They were hanging out off of castle grounds so it wasn't really a surprise when a hallow showed up. It was surprising when they found out how strong it was. Mu was still too weak to active her Shikai and was forced into using just basic sword technique and the small static charge she had control of. Raven end up having to save her ass twice before she shoved her sword into the hollows face.

"You ok?" She asked Mu.

"A little bruised but good." The two girls put their away swords and settled back down in the grass. "So," she started after a while "What's up with Sky? He's been disappearing after the meals for days now and even sneaking off during the night."

"You don't know?" Mu shook her head "He found the R&D department."

She sighed "That whole rooms a mess." Raven gave her a questioning look so she continued "Det is taking Kido lessons and dragging others into it. Wan has been sneaking off during the night to train with Tom, nothing good can come of that." Just then a small fire ball exploded just inside the castle grounds "And making quit a mess of the field again?" she yelled across the field before sighing. "And now Sky is joining the R&D department. He doesn't even see like the type."

"At least the others have been calming down. It's been a few weeks since Naruto has blown up a training room."

"She's been busy with Mathias though."

"Does she still not trust him?"

Raven shrugged "I honestly can't tell. I felt like she doesn't know what to do about him either. One minute she's acting like there's nothing wrong with the world, and the next she acting like the Bounts are trying to destroy us."

Mu nodded "I can see what you mean. It's almost like she sees herself in them."

"The Bounts?"

"Yeah. Remember what she told us at the 'therapy' session. She had powers back when she was still alive. Maybe she was a descendent of fullbringers or something? It would explain why she doesn't want to mistrust them just for being Bounts."

"I don't mistrust Bounts for being Bounts." Raven said, "I mistrust them because they attacked us." She then started trying to adjust her sleeves before untimely deciding to take them off. The lines they left on her skin made the pale girl sigh and regret having designed a uniform with sleeves separate from the shirt.

Mu smiled a little bit before laying down in the grass "There's, uh, something that I've been thinking about lately."

"And what would that be?"

"You're going to think it's stupid." Raven shook her head and sat down next to Mu, motioning her to continue. "It's just that, remember how Laugh said she was killed by a group of Rogues but her guards got to them before they could get away?"

"Yeah well, Naruto was killed by her targets guard after she and her brother killed the target."

"Are you saying-"

"I'm not saying anything. It's just something I was thinking about." She sighed and stared up into the night sky. "Why don't you like talking to other people?"

Raven shrugged "I don't like people."

"Good enough answer as any I guess." Mu said "Where do you think King is?"

"Probably off at his human job. It was getting close to Christmas so any job at a store was going to be demanding."

Mu nodded, that was true. And there was always a chance of the Expensian gate would be open so that needed to have an eye kept on it. Yeah, Mu new about the Expensians. It was another new thing she had learned. It was surprisingly not hard to find out, since Tekking had put up a video on them on YouTube. She had also found out that both Law Tekking and normal Tekking could use Armament Haki, which was weird cause she had no idea what Haki even was. "Maybe he's busy with collage?" she shrugged as she stood up and stood up. She started to walk off to the castle but suddenly she felt like the earth underneath her had turn to liquid, and she stumbled to the ground.

Raven shot up and ran to catch the girl "Mu?" she called. But to Mu felt like she was under water, everything felt funny and all she wanted to do was sleep. "Mu!" just a quick nap. "Mu stay with me." Her limbs felt to heavy and the water around her felt like they were full of static. Raven continued to speak but her voice was drowned out by the sound of roaring water.

She tried to keep her eyes open but the water made everything blurry. Since when was there water?

The muffled sound seamed to fade out and started to be replaced by the sound of a heart monitor "She's coming to."

Mu opened her eyes and saw the walls of one of the medical rooms. She turned her head to see XV and Jim standing by her bed side. "Can you speak?" Val asked.

"Yeah." She muttered. Her voice wasn't horse but it wasn't strong either.

"Can you state your full name and rank?"

"Mu Brigs, 12th seat of squad 101."

"Do you know who I am?"

"XV Shadow, 11th seat and head medic of squad 101."

"And where are we?"

"The castle baric of squad 101."

Val scribbled something on a piece of paper and walked away from her bed. Jim leaned forward and pulled out a needled "I'm going to draw some blood; can you make a fist?" Mu nodded and closed her eyes. After it was done Jim walked away and put the vials in the machine. "Raven brought you in here and stayed for a few hours before she had to leave." He said "She looked like she wanted to stay longer but Neo came and pulled her away with a bunch of papers in his hand." Mu nodded yawned "Its best if you get some rest, I feel like tomorrow is going to be hard."

Jim stayed by her side until the girl was asleep again. After her breathing steadied out he went to the machine and got what looked like a receipt. The machine had been given to them by Sky from the R&D department after they continually sent them stuff to be tested. Jim joked that they just got tired of seeing their face. "What do the results say?" Val asked.

"Nothing. They say absolutely nothing." He brushed his hand through his hair. "There's no signs of anything being wrong but there are no signs of anything being right."

"Is there something wrong with the machine?" she asked, lifting the small thing up and checking to see if there were any dents in it.

"It was working just fine with Wan a few hours ago." Jim said, heading over to the desk to look at the files from Wan. They had gown very steadily in the past few days from the consistent visits, and all the results seamed to match up from night to night.

"Get a test on her Reishi." Val said "I'm going to send it up to the R&D."

"I don't like going up there." Jim said "Can't you go?"

"No. I'm going to run a few more tests on Mu that you can't do."

"Can't you call Sky?"

"He's asleep Jim. Just like everyone else." She sighed and handed him a box to do the test with. "Get this done and go to bed. I'm already awake so I might as well start my shift now."

Jim eventually gave up and took the reishi samples and left the safely of the hall. The nights were always the weirdest in the castle. When he woke up in the middle the of the night to take over a shift for Val, walking alone in the darkness was the thing that put him on edge the most. It felt empty. Like no one had lived inside the walls for years. It was actually kind of true if you thought about it. They were all dead. The only living thing was the Bount and if the rumors were to be believed, the king.

No one had seen the king in a while. Atticus wouldn't say anything about it but they all knew that their captain hadn't been in the castle the past few days.

Maybe he had been at his human job? It was getting close to Christmas so any job at a store was going to be demanding. That and there was always a chance of the Expensian gate would be open so that needed to have an eye kept on it. Not that that should ever be a problem, since it had been sealed since the beginning of time. But you never know, people are idiots sometimes.

As Jim wandered up the stairs he began to think, Sky probably wasn't asleep. He was most likely to already be up and behind the door he was heading to now. That guy was so ealy impressed he was still probably in awe at the mad scientist that lived in the room.

On the way up, Jim passed by a small opening that was an offshoot of the hall that led to the dining room. Standing in the opening was Enzi. His green eyes stared at the ex-exorcist before he disappeared up to what he liked to call 'the forbidden hall'. He himself had never been up there but he had heard the stories of what went on. He had only seen Sky and unseated officers going to that hall, Jim trying everything he could to stay away.

Slowly Enzi pushed himself off the railings and he walked back down the dark hall he came from. There he met up with Rensa, Mercury, and DB. "You guys ready?"

The two nodded but DB shook his head "No. I'm not going."

"What do you mean?" Enzi asked. "If you're not going then why are you here?"

"I'm here to tell you I want out. Don't bother me. If you get yourself killed, then it's not my fault, and I won't come save your ass." He snarled and marched away. The halls were dark but the stones were warm, giving Dragon a strange, half comforting, half foreboding feeling.

DB was almost back at the bedrooms of the seated officers when he ran into a small body. "Soul?" he asked "What are you doing up?" Soul shrugged and tried walked past him. "Un, no." He said, grabbing Soul's arm "I know you can talk. So talk."

When Soul said nothing, DB yanked his arm and dragged him around. Suddenly Soul's fist shot up and would have crushed DB's ribs if they had not stopped suddenly, mere millimeters away from the older man's clothing. "Sorry." They said quietly, backing away and trying to disappear.

DB looked like he was going to say something but instead he grabbed Soul's hand and together they marched down to one of the empty rooms. On the way there DB called Tenchi to tell him that he wouldn't be back that night and to tell Det and Daphne to continue without him. He and Tenchi had agreed to join the lessons that night, which had plans on running until morning, but with Soul he didn't want to go anymore.

"So where's Naruto and Amulet?" he asked after closing his phone. "They wouldn't have just let you out to wander the halls at," he paused to check the time "three in the morning." He did a double take. No way it was three already.

Soul shrugged and put a hand on his sword. "You think their training?" DB asked. Soul shrugged again. "So they weren't there when you left the room?" Soul nodded. "That just great. Not only is your room empty but I also saw Laugh and Neo sneaking off somewhere after dinner. It's like no one is asleep tonight." DB complained as he pulled up a chair and got Soul to sit down. "Atticus is not going to be happy about this tomorrow."


	20. Time to Pay the Reward

**Chapter 20! Time to Pay the Reward**

 **Quick heads up, I want to start finishing this story up so if you have anything you want me to include, feel free to review or DM me on what that is.**

When Atticus woke up the next morning the first thing he realized was that it was quiet. It was the quiet that woke him up actually. Normally the castle had a certain hum to it that came from the Reishi that the reapers gave off once they were awake, but it was missing. If felt as quiet as some of the first nights in the castle before people started finding their groups and niches.

Atticus eminently pushed himself out of bed and threw on his uniform, grabbed his sword, and ran out the door. As soon as he entered the hall way he realized why everything was quiet. No one was out of their rooms. It was easily 8 o'clock in the morning, and while it wasn't uncommon for some of them to sleep until noon, a lot of them got up around 6. So for the halls to be so quiet, it was very creepy. Why were they all asleep? Both Val and Jim were in their rooms, probably having assigned an unseated officer sitting in the medical ward ready to call them if needed. Since neither of them ever really got a full night's sleep, it was odd for them to be there.

Atticus continued down the stairs and into the main part of the castle. There were a few unseated officers hanging around, but it was still very quiet. Was everyone asleep? He double checked his watch, one of the clocks on the wall, and even the sun and they all said the same thing, it was time to get up. Even entering the dining hall didn't increase the volume that much.

He waited there, just quietly munching on his bowl of cereal for a good hour and a half before any of the other 20 seated officers joined him. It was Val and Jim that came down first, eating a high protein breakfast before either pulling out a newspaper or falling asleep on the table. "Hey Val, did anything happen last night that I should know about?"

The medic didn't look up from the papers "Not really. There was a hollow attack just outside the grounds that Raven and Mu took care of. Mu got hurt but nothing major." She shrugged.

"That's it?" he asked.

"Just her and Wan."

"Wan again?" he asked. That guy had been training his ass of and getting hurt every single night. However his normal training session was normally far enough away from the castle not to bother anyone. In fact, only a few people really knew what exactly he was doing. Not even Atticus new every detail. So that can't be the reason for the silence. "When does he sleep?"

"When he's in my hall." She deadpanned. "He's been taking up pretty permanent residence down there to the point where he's brought down some books and clothes."

They continued to talk as the rest of the officers trickled into the room. After getting a plate of food they all placed their heads on the table and closed their eyes. "Seriously, did none of you sleep? What did you guys do last night?"

Sky shrugged "I thought I was the only one awake."

"That's because you never left that stupid metal door of yours." Jim growled.

"Metal door?" Rensa asked.

"Yeah," Val said, folding her paper and giving a mocking smile. "Sky here has joined the Research and Development department."

"We have that?" Mercury asked. "Since when do we have that?"

"Since the beginning apparently." She shrugged. "Though I only heard about it after Sky joined."

"Can we please stop talking about this!" Sky said loudly. "Literally this is all I hear everywhere I go."

"Sucks to be you." Daphne shrugged and took another bite of her breakfast. "But really though, can we please talk about how there's an entire sub division inside this castle?"

"No." Sky moaned.

The group fell quiet for a moment before Naruto pulled out her phone and shoved it in Wans face. "What's this?" he asked.

"Well, I heard you were training for Bankai." She smiled "So I thought you should watch the video king made on that. You're not going the traditional rout by using Jinzen so I thought this might help you."

Wan only had to watch it for a few second before looking back at the girl "Have you watched this video yourself?" he asked.

"Well, no."

"You do realize that this is a joke, right?"

"What? No its not. King made it so it has to be true."

Many of the soul reapers, even some unseated, turned to look at the girl. "You really don't know our captain then." DB muttered, dropping something into his coffee to help with his headache. "Watch some of his other videos, he's a comedian. Don't trust anything that guy says."

Daphne looked up "Did you guys know King can't use Kido?" she said.

"He's a captain though," Amulet questioned "I thought he was supposed to at least know a few spells."

"Maybe one of his clones do, but he cant."

The group continued to talk but soon a few of them began to fade out and leave the room. "Well, I'm off to do some paperwork," Atticus said, piling up his plates. "Anyone care to join?" No one said anything but Soul did raise their hand. The two quickly left and went up to Atticus office behind the meeting hall.

As Atticus open the door he turned in the light and sighed. The numerous paper piles had grown since last night and one of the piles had fallen over onto the floor. "It's a mess." Soul said quietly.

Atticus looked over to the reaper in mild surprise but just shrugged and pulled out a stamp "Pick a pile and read through some papers. If they seem justified, then stamp it. It's my signature." Soul nodded and took a stamp from the desk and began the work. It was boring and repetitive but some of the papers deserved to be burned and not signed, so it was importin to take your time. "Hey Soul?" Atticus asked "What's your opinion on Mathias?"

Soul shrugged and shook their head. It's not like they didn't like the Bount, it's that they didn't trust him. There was something wrong with his eyes, something that put Soul on edge. Soul had been raised a noble, so they had been trained to know when someone was lying. Mathias wasn't lying per say, but he was holding something back. That much Soul was sure of. "Don't trust him." They muttered. Atticus nodded and the two continued on with their work.

A few hour later, they had managed to finish one of the piles and send it off to where ever all the paper work was sent off to, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Atticus said.

Slowly, a timid little boy opens the door. "I'm-I'm sorry to interrupt." He stammered. "But there seems to be a fight going on outside."

Atticus stopped what he was doing and slowly put his stamp down. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"13 people have already been moved to the medical ward."

"What!" He yelled and standing up and marching out the door. Soul quickly stood up and ran after the lieutenant. "Give me detail, who started it."

"I-I don't know. I saw people running down the stair and I followed. Jim stopped me before I could get to the door because he needed help carrying one of the bigger guys."

"Do you know who it was?"

"Clay Muck."

Atticus cursed. That guy was 7 feet tall and all muscle, taking him down was no small feat. "Did he tell you anything about what was going on?"

"No, only to get you."

Atticus cursed loudly this time and pounded his hand against his captain's door. "He better be here." He waited a little bit before pulling out a black key and shoving it into the lock. "They weren't even awake this morning," he mumbled under his breath. "how could they have started a fight?" He swung the door open and walked into the captains' room. "Captain Crawford!" he yelled. "Captain Crawford we have a problem!"

"He's not in here." The boy said.

Atticus's eyes widen and he turned around "Get out!" he yelled at the boy. The boy jumped but didn't move, prompting Soul to grab the boy and throw him out the door.

"What is this place?" Soul asked, walking into the room. It was rectangular shape, wider then it was long. With another door in front of the one they had just entered and a window to their right.

"Stay here." Atticus demanded and went thought the door.

The room was pretty cluttered and there wasn't much space to move around so Soul ended up being pushed to the window. They tried to moved away from some pointy object but ended up tripping and falling back into a white material. Soul turned around and eminently recognized it as a captain haori. Only it wasn't the kings haori, it was the 4th divisions. The table underneath of it held an assortment of guns and swords, a pair of glasses, a small Christmas tree, and oddly enough, a white mask.

Soul tried not to think of what that meant and moved away. On the wall next to the door they had entered through was a window, covering that window though was an assortment of suits and ties. There was even a dress shirt that had one black sleeve that connected to the rest of the shirt with a flame like pattern. Across from that was a small assortment of books underneath a window that was covered by a green screen. There was a thin black one titled _Death Note_ that had a sticky note on it that said do not touch, a blue book that had a cross taped to the front, and a similar blue book that had a white circle pattern with little dot on it.

On the floor were two table lamps and a broken tri pod. They were all positioned to make the black curtain look like a stage. The curtain itself was coved in photos that sort of freaked them out. Most of the pictures were of importin people during the Soul Society's history, some were hollows, some were dead. They looked like drawings but one could never be too sure.

Soul reached down to pick the broken tripod up but their arm got to close to one of the lamps and got burnt. Soul stumbled forward into a black curtain. The curtain moved underneath their hand and revealed a large window. Careful not to damage the pictures, Soul moved it to look out the window. The landscape was vastly difference then what should be out that window. For one there was a house. A small, to story house that sat innocently right in front of Souls face. That wasn't right. The room they were in should be far above the roof of that house, but here it was, with the ground right underneath the window.

Soul heard the door knob open and they quickly pushed them self away from the window and back into the room. Atticus marched into the room and grabbed Souls' arm "He's not here." He said.

"What is this place?" they asked again. "Atticus, what's going on?"

"This place," Atticus started "Is Kings human home. And King, is missing." Atticus didn't go into any more detail and instead led the runaway noble out of the room before closing the door and locking it. He then walking to the windows by the table and opened one. "You can take the stair if you want." He smiled before jumping.

Soul looked out the window to see Atticus disappearing into the garden below. Shrugging, they did the same.


	21. The Start of the Shit

**Chapter 21! The Start of the Shit**

 **Merry Christmas/Start of Hanukah! Early chapter for you!**

 **Warning: language**

As Soul hit the ground they knew imminently something was going down. The concentration of the reishi in the air had skyrocketed since breakfast and some of it felt foreign to them, but not completely foreign. There was a hint of familiarity to it, like the kind they had felt lingering around the warehouse that they had found in the mountains. It was a bounts reishi, multiple bounts.

Soul ran, trying to find Atticus but his reishi had completely disappeared. It wasn't like he had moved into the crowd, he was just gone. Soul flash stepped across the garden and into the field. It looked like hell had decided to throw a riot and it had spilled over onto earth.

Everyone was fighting, and they were fighting with each other. "Atticus!" Soul yelled as they ran into the crowd. It felt weird yelling, but it did end up getting someone attention so it kind of payed off.

DB stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the normally quiet Reaper. "Soul?" he asked.

"Dragon! What the hell is going on?! Where is Atticus?" They demanded. To say that the older man was shocked would be an understatement. Soul was yelling at him, _Soul_ was _yelling_ at him. "Answer me you fucker!"

A small smile slipped onto DB's face. "Glad to know you've finally joined us. Atticus hasn't shown up yet but he'll probably be here soon."

"What do you mean he's not here? I followed him out of the garden."

"Well I don't know what to tell you." He shrugged and whipped around to block some guy who had tried to cut his head off. DB pushed him back and landed a solid kick in his abdomen. "I've been watching the castle since the fight started and no vice."

Soul growled and cut down the closest fighting pair. Those two were idiots anyways, fighting without reason or cause, goes against all since of justice and survival smarts any reaper should have. "Who started this then?"

DB shrugged "There were only 10 people out here fighting and I didn't get a good look at who they were. I know Naruto and Laugh tried to break it up but then they got drawn into it. That's when I showed up." He said, taking a sip from his flask while blocking another attack from an unseated officer. "I did nothing."

Soul ignored him and jumped into the crowd. Anger was a real thing for the reaper, they tried to keep it tucked away in little bottles on their shelf, but sometimes the bottles break. It wasn't anger per say, it was something else, a need, a drive, a focal point. This not anger drove Soul and let all the built-up energy inside drive into a single direction. So those who ended up in that path, if they ended up dead or worse, Soul no longer cared.

Their body was almost on auto pilot, moving without so much of a thought or consciousness.

The destruction Soul left in their path drew a lot of attention, enough to get Enzi to turn his head and throw off whoever he was fighting. His pink hair was stained with blood and the hilt of his blade was red as well. He had yet to release his Shikai, but it was ready and even releasing a thin mist had spread around him and across the field, hiding little pot holes that some of the others had created during the battle.

Enzi was distracted long enough for someone to get a jump on him. It was a blue light slammed into his side and forced him to the ground. The things glow made it more visible in the mist as it tried to bury itself inside the ground to get to someone else's feet.

DB imminently recognized the thing from the stupid white coat Bount that he and Tenchi had fought before. "Enzi! Soul!" he yelled, stopping Soul from attacking another group. "They're Bounts!"

Enzi quickly stood up and ran over to DB, grabbing Souls arm on the way. They pushed themselves into a triangle shape and raised their reishi. Suddenly all the mist that wasn't in a three feet diameter around them disappeared, along with most of the soul reapers that were fighting. Leaving only the seated officers standing around, looking confused.

"What the hell?" Soul muttered. They had calmed down slightly with the others around them but still not quite the same as they were before. Soul looked around, trying to find Atticus but he and king seem to be the only one's missing, outside of XV and Jim.

"Soul, I need you to focus." DB said "Look over to your right, what do you see?"

Soul tensed they're muscles and growled, "Lilly." The girl was standing in the middle of the field wearing her pink dress and smiling. There was a little purple ribbon in her hair that was waving in the nonexistent wind. She looked at them and suddenly she was in front of Soul. "Shit!" they yelled, swinging their sword at the girls' face, only to have it go right through her. She smiled again and let her body turn into mist.

"Don't just stand there!" Enzi yelled to the others "There are bounts at the castle!"

The sudden movement of people pushed the trio closer together. Soul continued to scan through the crowd, looking for both Atticus and the bounts. Still no sign of the two. "Enzi, how willing are you to release your Shikai?" DB asked.

"I'd rather wait to see who I'm fighting." He said. DB nodded and suddenly everything was still.

Standing at the top of the hill with the tree on it was a group of five bounts. There was Lilly standing off to the side, Rodrick standing just behind her, Elizabeta standing to her husband's left, and behind them were Gilbert and Ludwig. "Shit." DB said.

Lilly reached up and touched her ribbon and suddenly the group of bounts and the area around them were covered in a think mist. _Mist_. "Soul," Enzi started "Get Naruto and Amulet and get control of this mist!"

Soul didn't say anything and ran to get the team. They ran just across the field and past the castle entre, grabbing Jim along the way. "What the hell is going on? Where is everyone?" he asked, trying to keep his feet underneath him as he was dragged along the torn-up ground.

"Fucking Bounts."

"Bounts did all this? Soul, everyone in the medical ward has disappeared."

"So has Atticus." Soul said. "And where going to kill the bitch who did it." They grabbed Naruto and Amulet and told them the plan.

"That involves a lot of speculation and risk." Amulet whispered in a concerned voice. "And what do you want Jim to do? He can't control mist."

Soul smiled and leaned forward.

Enzi didn't have time to check what the mist team was doing, he was too busy getting together his team. Sky, Rensa, and Mercury were spread around the field so he had to flash step to get to them. DB's team had come to him so it didn't feel right trying to get his team to come over. Neo's team had already gone off to attack one of the blonds. And he didn't have an eye on any of the others, the mist had begun to spread and mix in with his, limiting his vision.

"Sky," Enzi started "Can you see well enough to fight?"

"Not really, but I can sense their reiatsu well enough to know when to dodge."

"But can you fight?" Sky shrugged. "Good enough." Enzi grabbed his hand and headed into the mist. Over the years, his eyes had gotten use to low visibility fights but it still wasn't very easy. However, it wasn't long before something attacked them.

"Ow!" Mercury yelled. But Enzi wasn't paying attention to him, he was watching the blue light that was trying to hide in the mist. Mercury pushed him aside ran forward and tried to follow the light, the rest of his team ran after him. However, Mercury ran right into Elizabeta. Correction, his neck ran right into Elizabeta's hand.

The Bount smiled "Serpenyő." She muttered as a part of her flower turned to black sludge. The thing slipped down her hair and down her arm, on to the Shinigami's neck. She let the smile drop from her face as she let him fall to the ground. She reached up to touch the remaining flower to make sure the thing was still there before disappearing into the mist.

The thing was suffocating him, spreading around his arms and up his face. Stopping him from moving, breathing. The thing was in his hair and he could tell it was closing around his head. He could feel his heart rate speed up, the idea of being incased in the Doll was not appetizing. First off it was grouse, and second he would die, again.

Mercury struggled to get out of the things grip, trying to knock it off but he soon realized that it was pointless, instead he let the blade fall out of the sheath and he released his Shikai. "Burn to a crisp." He managed to squeak out before he was completely encased.

The Bount was too busy trying to fight off the other three to be bothered by that little annoyance though. She had released half of her remaining Doll and had transformed it into a shape that closely resembled a frying pan. That thing made a very good weapon though. It was a reliable shield though, successfully blocking Rensa's Axe and hitting Sky in the gut in one swift move.

Sky was knocked back but quickly got back up again to punch the girl in the face. Sky wasn't the kind of person who thought you shouldn't hit a girl. To him, if the person deserved to be hit, then it doesn't matter what gender or species they were, they were going to get hit. He went for it but because he couldn't see very well, he failed to notice part of the sludge slip down the woman's arm and move to block his fist.

Rensa pushed himself up and went for the Bounts extended arm. He infused his axe with a compact ball of kido and swung. The kido was a weak level but it managed to burn her arm and forced her to retreat a few feet.

Enzi choose that moment to sneak up behind her and took a swing, metalizing his sword for just a moment to cover it in electricity sparks. There seemed to be some reaction because the Bount eminently pulled away and held her arm. The Doll turned to sludge and slopped to the ground. Sky and Rensa took the change and attacked her.

The sludge that remained with Mercury seamed to weaken with the heat and then suddenly it pushed itself off of him and then reformed into a semi human shape. There was a head, arms, and a torso that doubled as its legs.

Mercury growled, the thing was going to try and fight him. Well might as well give it a fight then. "Ban-kai!"

The sudden surge of heat was felt all throughout the field and even into the castle. "Shit, Mercury!" Sky yelled, but was forced to focus again when the Bount tried to hit him across the face. She had moved the sludge into her left hand and change it into a sword. Still about a quarter of a flower sat innocently in her hair. Rensa and Enzi had disappeared into the mist and Sky figured it was as good as time as any to try and talk the lady down. "Now listen, I don't want to fight you."

"Neither do I." she said, swinging the bland to loosen her wrist.

"Then why are you doing this?"

Elizabeta shrugged "It's not my decision to make." She said before attacking again.

Unfortunately for her, a javelin made of flames came straight towards her head. But, as the team waited for the missing member to appear, no one showed up.


	22. Revenge of the light

**Chapter 22! Revenge of the light**

 **A new year an early chapter. Just a heads up, there won't be a new chapter next week. I'm going out of state and I can't bring my computer. But I am taking suggestions for what you want to happen next chapter, I like suggestions. I also apologies for any spelling/grammar mistake, I wrote most of this in the car.**

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DB, Tenchi, Mu, and Daphne creeped through the mist, that was closer in resemblance to fog by that point. The team were looking for the Bount that had the blue light Doll that they had fought with beforehand. Daphne and Tenchi were discussing plans by tapping out mores code on each other's hands while DB and Mu were watching for any discoloration that might hint at the Doll.

Mu was the one who spotted it first. It was to the right of them and getting farther away. She started running, not telling anyone and instead trusting them to follow her lead. As they ran, the others tried followed the light however it seemed to disappear completely. And then reappeared. Suddenly there were many all around them moving in different directions. The group stopped but DB kept going. He didn't care if the light was gone, he knew where the Bount was.

The crater that he had seen giant fire balls coming out of was just ahead of them and was the perfect place for a battle. It was a little bit out of the way so it explained why the Doll kept disappearing. DB stopped himself just as he reached the edge of the crater and waited for the others to catch up. Standing in the middle of the creator was the white coat Bount with a hand on his pendent. As soon as everyone was there, DB unsheathed his sword and flash stepped into the pit.

"You ready?" Mu asked. Daphne nodded and slid down the slope.

Rodrick said nothing as he watched the group of Shinigami approach him. Instead he released his Doll again and disappeared into the mist. Tenchi cursed and tried to figure out if his Zanpaktou would work against the light. Shrugging he released it anyways "Undō-ryoku!" he yelled. The others took his lead and released theirs as well.

"Shriek, Kokyū shi." Daphne smiled, moving to accommodate for her new two handed weapon that was her scythes. They were heavy, but man could she throw them far.

Mu unsheathed hers, ignoring the look she got from Tenchi she released hers. "Cry in anguish! Kaminari Himei" she called.

DB was the laziest of them all as he simply muttered his "Piasushīrudo" as he raised his arm to grab hold of his shield.

The combined increase of all their reishi was enough to add a noticeable increase in presser around them. The Doll wavered a little bit before attacking. It first went to Mu, who, despite having just released her Shikai, did not activate its effect. Instead she lifted the large claymore and hit the blue light dead on. To her surprise the thing got stuck to the bottom of her sword and got cut in half. It took a lot of her energy not to release the electricity. She couldn't be hospitalized as soon as the fight started.

The two smaller lights flickered and the one to the left went to attack Daphne while the one to the right continued to attack Mu. Tenchi ran up to help Mu but when he hit it, it only gave the same result, splitting into two. "This isn't working!" He said, backing up to not get hit. The two balls pushed themselves back together and attacked again. He managed to block it but they split again and one came around and hit him in the face.

DB got fed up pretty quickly and charged off into the mist. "DB!" Mu yelled, but was forced to continue fighting as two of the lights came up on her from opposite sides. The thing touched the blade and her power activated before she had a time to stop it. The surge of electricity could be felt in the air as the mist carried it. All of the lights wavered and the smaller ones fizzled out.

"Do that again!" Tenchi called out. Swinging the rode to try and beat down the light in front of him, a small ball of reishi began floating behind him.

"Now he's telling me to use my Zanpaktou." She muttered to herself. She could feel her body resist the movement but as long as she could still move, that's all that mattered. "Daphne, start using kido! Anything that sparks will be good!" she yelled as another one came her way. She only had two more chances so she had to conserve her energy.

Daphne nodded and hung her scythes around her neck by the chain. Raising her arms out she built up a ball of yellow lightning and aimed at the moving Doll. "Hadō #63. Raikōhō!" she yelled, launching it at the closest light and wasn't directly in front of any of her teammates. It hit the thing dead on and the thing fizzled out. She grabbed her scythes again and started charged up another kido "Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Rodrick could feel his Doll fading but he didn't really have time to focus on that. The Shinigami was _absorbing_ his Doll. Every time he tried to attack the reaper he just raised his shield and the light got absorbed into it. This confused the Bount, when they had first fought, his Doll had simply bounced off the shield, but now it was going into the metal. Despite this, Rodrick thought he was winning. DB was entirely on defense and could only run around trying not to get hurt. But somewhere along the line he started charging at him and using the built-up energy to attack him. The shift was both sudden and almost unnoticeable.

The Shinigami's attacks were fierce. Once he got going, he didn't stop. Rodrick tried sending another Doll at him, hoping to get it to go fast enough for it to hit him before he reacts. However, DB was a Shinigami, his reaction speed was much faster than any human the Bount had come across.

DB started to run at Rodrick, scarring the him into sending the remaining lights at him. DB raised his shield once again and took the full force of the attack. The Doll forced him back across the field. Cracks started to appear in the black metal, revealing a blue glow underneath. If he waited any longer, there wouldn't be a shield left.

He continued to run, this time raising his sword above his head and pushing his shield to the side. The cord began to glow as DB started to transfer the energy into his sword.

Rodrick called back a wondering fraction of his Doll but he knew it wouldn't get there in time. The Shinigami was charging right at him and all he could do was run. It was heart raising, it was terrifying, it was, exhilarating! The Bount started to laugh. Never had he felt like he was in so much danger, he was becoming drunk on adrenalin.

DB swung his sword and released all the built up reishi into a single moment of impact.

When the dust settled, Rodrick was on the ground, covered in his own blood and still laughing. DB was panting, with his hands on his knees and his shielded sword in his sheath. Not only had he used all the built-up energy but as well as his own in the attack. "Oh you Shinigami!" the Bount sputtered out. "Do you know how strange this is for me? The last real battle I've fought was back before Germany was a thing!" his laughter started to slow and his body seized up. "I've met your kind before but I've made sure my family were out of harms ways. Now I'm willingly coming to your home on a suicide mission for a reason I don't even know." His voice cracked as he slowly reached up and grabbed his pendent.

Throughout the field, all the little lights turned from their position and returned to the Bount. There weren't many left. Maybe about half of the original Doll returned but there were enough to give Rodrick the strength he needed.

Mu, Daphne, and Tenchi watched as the things they were attempting to fight, run away. They followed the lights and ran into DB. He looked up at them, gave a half smile and slumped onto the ground, "Fuck." He muttered.

As the Bount stood up, Daphne looked around. They were still in the crater but only barely. She threw her hands up and called out a barrier, it was slightly unstable but as long as no one touched it, they wouldn't die. Unfortunately she would have to be conscious in anyone wished to get in or out so surviving was rather important unless her team felt like digging.

Rodrick tore off the rages that were the remains of his coat. He couldn't exactly be called the _white_ Bount anymore because his clothes were stained red with blood. The blue lights buzzed around him as he reached his hand out.

The team tensed but instead on attacking, the lights shot towards the Bount and into his hand. Slowly the ball built up and once it got to the size of a baseball, he lifted it up to his mouth and bite it.

Not wanting to see what the Bount was trying to accomplish, Daphne did the first thing that popped into her mind. She hooked the chain around her neck and threw her scythes at him. As the chain extended, she held out her arm and did something that she knew she wasn't capable of.

It was a handmade kido that she had found half made in the book she got from the library. She had modified it to fit her swords type but had never mastered the technique.

The wind whipped around the double scythes as the approached the feeding Bount. She was capable of creating minor explosions with the compression of the air around her scythe but with this new kido she could get the equivalent of a 20-pound afro blast. Tenchi prepared to protect them but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Daphne and Mu tensed but it was unneeded.

DB pushed the last of his strength into his legs as he threw himself over and held up his shield to protect from the blast. His shield was now riddled with cracks and pieces were falling off, but it held.

The explosion was effective to the terrain, widening the crater and making a little dome where they stood. But when the smoke cleared, the Bount was nowhere to be found. "He better be dead." DB said as he fell to the ground.

"Afraid not." Tenchi muttered as the Bount reappeared. He somehow looked better than before the blast, with the exception of his clothes, the only damage he had was some minor burns on his face and arms.

"Oh you got to be kidding me." He painted.

The Bount was laughing. It was a small chuckle, but it was laughter non-the less. "You really think this is enough to defeat me?" he cried, throwing his hands out. "Do you have any idea how long I've been alive? What chance do you have to kill me now?"

"There's something you don't quite seem to get though." Tenchi said, approaching the Bount. "You see, we've already died. So I guess you could say killing us is kind of a moot point then." He smiled. "Mu," he said "Can you do it?"

"I would hope so." She smiled and raised her sword "But I only have 37 second so I need you to get me a good shot before I'm willing to activate it." The three nodded and adjusted their stances.

Daphne launched another attack at the Bount and sent off a small explosion next to his face. Tenchi flash stepped behind him and launched one of the balls of reishi that were floating off of his blade and swung his sword through it, the ball exploded and tossed the Bount back.

DB raised his sword to the Bounts face and swung.

He released all of the energy from the explosion into the single attack and Rodrick fell to the ground. "Now Mu!"

"Bankai!" she yelled, heaving her heavy claymore into the air "Oni Heishi Kaminari Himei!"* The wind whipped around her as a thick golden armor began to coat her skin and a helmet formed on her head.

Rodrick panic, the air was humming with electricity and the mist was helping to carry the electricity. Suddenly Mu was on him. She shoved her blade into his chest and let the electricity burn through him.

She crouched to the ground as the dust of his body faded away. Tears where streaming down her face and the claymore fell into the disturbed earth and her knees gave out underneath her.

* * *

 ***Due to translation errors this is not the name I had written down for reference, however, this is the closest translation I could get to the original entry from the pronunciation that Tekking provided. If her Bankai has come up in an earlier chapter please tell me so I can fix it.**


	23. From popcorn to shadows

**Chapter 23! From popcorn to shadows**

As Rodrick's body disintegrated the mist around the team of Shinigami seamed to thicken. Daphne quickly deactivated the shield so as not to trap them in the less then joyful air. Her team wasn't looking so good, both DB and Mu were down for the count and Tenchi looked like he could be knocked down by a small breeze. She probably wasn't any better off but until she hit the ground, she would keep going. "Tenchi," she started "How close are the others?"

"I can't tell, this mist is…" he waved his hand.

"I know," she sighed. "I think we're repeating Tino again, except instead of emotions-"

"It's something else." He finished. Looking over to where half of his team laid he sighed "Didn't Mathias say that he was one of the weaker ones?"

"Mathias said a lot of things."

Tenchi wobbled and then fell onto the ground "Where's Val when you need her?" he asked to no one.

Val was only having a minor panic attack. First her ward was packed full of just about every unprepared idiot who thought they knew how to hold a sword, now there was barley 5. Barley because one kept trying to run out the door and she had half a mind to let him. Apparently he was close friends with Mercury and said he was in trouble. Val didn't buy it however because in her words "If he's in trouble, then what could you do to stop it. There are close to 20 captain class Shinigami standing in the field out there and most of us have released our Shikai." She taped her sword, indicating the power that the metal released "I don't think the human realm can handle much more."

"But there's Bounts out there!"

"And there's a Bount in h-" she stopped herself. "Shit. You!" she yelled, pointing to one of the unseated she had been attempting to train in order to get more sleep. "You're in charge until I get back. Make sure no one dies!" she threw a cell phone at the girl and ran out the door.

"But X!" she tried to say but Val didn't stay long enough to listen. Mathias was still in the castle. Mathias was somewhere in the castle and no one was watching him. XV ran down the empty halls and followed the strongest train of reishi she could find without bothering to check who it was, as everyone else was outside or in some unknown location.

She knew just about every face in the castle but who she ran into was not one of them. No, he was not a face from the castle. "I was wondering when someone would show up." The inspector smirked. Val grabbed her sword and adjusted her stance "Oh no need for that, I don't have a Doll you see so no point in fighting." He said "My name is Hutt, I'm here to negotiate with the king."

"Our Captain isn't currently available for discussion." She said cautiously.

"Oh, not your king. The north king." He smiled. "He is here, right? In the castle? I mean this would be a pretty stupid thing to do if he wasn't in the castle." He laughed and then sighed. "Oh well, you clearly know nothing. I guess I'll be off then."

He tried to walk away but Val quickly flash stepped in front of him. "Yeah, you're not going anywhere." She said, holding her blade to his neck. Suddenly the blade began to hum and her eyes widen. She grabbed Hutt's throat and threw him to the ground. She quickly cut deep slices into his arms and legs before freezing the blood to the floor. Just to be sure she also cast a weak kido on him as well. "Bakudō #9. Geki."

As she turned away, Hutt called out behind her "You have no idea what's going on, do you? Truth is none of us do! The only one who knows the whole story is the one causing all of this!"

She snapped, whipping around and pushing the tip of her sword against his neck "If you don't know anything, then shut up." She whispered. The Bount smiled and Val was on her way. She tuned her senses to pick up hidden reishi but which also had the unfortunate side effect of making everything else loader. "Fuck!" she yelled as a distress flare was sent out, nearly knocking her off her feet. Hopefully Jim was having better luck being a medic then she was or else they all be dead.

Wan felt like he was going to die. Whoever they were fighting was apparently strong if you went off the fact that they were getting their asses handed to them they hadn't even seen their opponents face yet. He was fast, and used the mist to his advantage as he disappeared and reappeared in a moment's notice, each time delivering a new injury to one if the team. Wan had gotten a deep slash just over his heart and he could feel himself draining out.

"Tom." He called out.

"Over here Wan."

"Where's Raven?"

There was a moment of silence "I cant tell, alive though. Hopefully." The mist had thickened significantly since the sudden rise in Reishi in the air which was then followed by a decent sized drop. Tom's best guess was that someone went Bankai and then someone else was killed. But everything seemed like it was muffled, not only by the mist but by something else as well. "You can't really see the sun so maybe she's hiding." He suggested.

Suddenly there was a cracking sound behind Wan and he was hit in the back. The burning sensation came after the initial realization of him being hit. And the mist shifted. He made a notice as a realization hit him.

Ignoring the pain, he followed visible hole in the mist that the moving Bount had created. But he ended up running into Mercury. He was bloodied, his eyes were unfocused, and he was supporting nearly all of his weight on one foot. Yet somehow, he still had his Bankai active. "Mercury?" Wan whispered as he approached the Shinigami with caution so as not to get burned by the rings of fire. "Mercury are you still there?" he asked. The red head didn't respond. He didn't do anything. It was like he wasn't even there.

The crackling sound happened again but the pain never came. Wan turned himself around found Raven using her shadows to hold the blond Bount. "Kisomaru, put me down." He said calmly.

"You know I can't do that Ludwig, you've crossed a line."

"Raven," Wan started "Do you know this Bount?"

The Bount gave an almost caring smile "Raven. Is that what they call you now?" he asked.

"Why are you here? We had a deal." She demanded.

Ludwig sighed "It's not my choice-"

"Bullshit! You're the head! Now _why_ are you here!" The Bount looked away "Answer me dame it!" he still said nothing. "You protected me!" she screamed "You promised that you would never hurt my family!"

"And we haven't." he cut in "Kisomaru, we haven't hurt a single reaper."

"Laugh? Neo? Det? They showed up after their mission half dead and with no memory!"

"But they're still alive." He said.

"Mercury!"

"Please Kisomaru, let me down."

"No!" she screamed and raised her sword, "You lied to me!" she charged, the black flames rippled around her and around the Bount. The swords was mere inches away from the Bounts heart and neck when a black sludge shot out from Mercury and attacked the vampire like Shinigami. Mercury fell to the ground and his sword sealed itself by his side. Wan ran to his side and quickly pushed him out of the way so the red head wouldn't get hurt in the battle to come. Raven thrashed, trying to get the sludge off her blade but the thing started to climb up the metal and onto her arms.

Wan quickly ripped his uniform to make a tight rap his hastily knotted around his chest to stop the bleeding before grabbing his sword and running at the Bount who was still bound in Ravens shadow snare.

" _You cant do this."_ The voices in his head said. _"You aren't ready."_

"I don't care." He replied, releasing his Shikai and running. The rap wasn't very stable and he could feel the blood trickling down his chest and his heart beating through the gash but this wasn't the time to care about that. "Raven," he yelled "What the hell is going on!"

"Not now Wan." She was struggling to get the sludge off of her and the shadows around Ludwig started to slip. "Shit." She said. The sludge started to creep up onto her neck and crush her throat.

Ludwig fell out of the shadows just as Wan reached him. The sharpened blade swung through the mist and let his blade grow, but just before it hit its target a flash of lightning struck his sword and threw him back. Even though it had only hit the yellow glow around his sword, the electricity could be felt in the air and through his blood, traveling all the way up to his wound and shocking his heart.

"Wan." He heard someone yell, it sounded like Tom but Wan hadn't seen him since he ran into Mercury.

It was weird, despite the pain, he didn't feel anything. He didn't feel mad, he didn't feel the need to confront Raven. Oh he knew it was going to happen eventually, but now just wasn't the time. Slowly Wan stood up. He saw Mercury beside him, moving as well and he could feel Tom off in the distance. Raven was still struggling with the sludge Doll but the Bount wasn't attacking. Why was that?

Raven knew the Bount. Clearly they knew each other well enough for the Bount to promise her protection. But the Bount didn't know her first name so maybe she had changed it before becoming a Shinigami. Did that mean she knew them when she was alive. But Raven didn't remember her human life, or at least that's what she told them. She could have always been lying, nothing was there that said she was telling the truth.

Wan began to walk over to the Bount. Ludwig was his name, very German. But Elizabeta had a Bount release that was Hungarian, at least that's what the files say but that could be a lie to. Tom was running over to the group but he looked slow. Not wanting to wait for him Wan raised his blade and prepared for battle.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Raven pushing herself into the shadows and disappearing from view.

Everything sped up again as Tom joined him and the Bount disappeared in a crackle. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"You don't even want to know." He laughed "So what did I miss?" Tom asked as he placed his cleaver on his shoulder. It was covered in blood and mud but overall undamaged.

"Apparently Raven has some old friends."

"And they're going to pay." Raven growled as she reappeared next to them covered in scratches but still in good enough condition to fight.

"Good enough reason for me." Tom laughed and charged in the direction the Bount had last been seen.

"So what can you tell me about this one?" Wan asked.

"His name is Ludwig, married during WWII and who's husband is from another clan in the south." She said.

"Useful information Raven."

"His Doll is his wedding ring and is associated with lighting and speed." Wan nodded, that would explain the crackling sound. "He and his brother took over the clan when their father figure was killed by the Shinigami and make it a point to take in orphans from Hollow attacks whenever they can."

The crackling sound started again and Toms laughter could be heard through the mist quickly followed by his screams. Wan and Raven nodded and ran after them.


	24. What's missing

**Chapter 24! What's missing**

 **Sorry this chapter is so short, I got very sick during this process and had to rush through this one in order to get it out on time. Unfortunately I think I am going to have to take next week off. See bottom for reasons.**

Mercury was a lot of things. He was rash, clingy, he likes his space, and most of all, he loved fire. He _was_ fire. Fire had been a part of him for was long as he could remember. Even in his human life he was fascinated by the thing, it was the only thing outside of his family that he remembered and wasn't that saying something. Family and fire were all that remained of his life. His inner world was a comfort to him with the heat but when he opened his eyes and saw a not human thing in there, the air imminently cooled by a noticeable degree. Maybe it was already cold, but the Shinigami didn't have time to think about that because the thing was starting to piss him off.

There, standing in front of him, was the female Bount. She looked different though. Her coloring was darker and her skin seemed to be moving. It wasn't her, it was her Doll. Right, he had been fighting the thing after being separated from his team. The thing didn't like being hit, but more importantly it did not like heat.

Mercury kicked one of the loss stones of the street they were standing on and reached for his sword. Since his spirit was nowhere in sight he figured that this would be a one on one fight. He cracked his back and spun his sword. For some reason his sword had returned back to its sealed state, which might explain why the torches on the building around them were only dimly lit. However when he tried to activate his Shikai, noting happened. Weird, hadn't he just been in Bankai?

Pushing it out of his mind, he decided that it was best to get this over with before anything major came into play. Not like there was anything he could do about it so why worry? "So, we going to fight or what?" Mercury half growled. The Doll lurched forward and then began charged. "Alright then." He smiled and flipped his sword around a couple times before swinging at the not Elizabeta face.

The thing raised its frying pan as a shield and used the momentum to carry its body in a circle and hitting Mercury in the chest with the metal like weapon. All the breath was knocked out of his and before he could recover, the thing brought the frying pan up and attempted to hit him over the head with it. He managed to get mostly out of the way but at the last moment she changed the frying pan into a sword and the tip of the blade scraped against his cheek, drawing blood.

Oh right, it was a shape shifting Doll. Why did it favor a frying pan then if it could turn into a sword?

Mercury wiped away the red liquid before steading his stance and attacking again. No time to ask stupid questions. Using flash step, he slammed the Doll against the wall and quickly followed it with a kick to the stomach. Instead of reacting like flesh would, and injuring the thing, the Dolls skin melted and reformed around Mercury's foot, effectively trapping him inside the creature. His eyes widen as the now gray hand reached up and began crushing the bones in his leg. The Shinigami began to scream in pain, this wasn't a normal break, he could feel the pressure slowly incasing him and flashes of a gray darkness slowly started to fill his mind.

He was incased, but he was here. He was in his inner world, his human home. The roman streets were empty of his spirit and the flames were nearly dead. He wasn't here, no one was here.

The Doll ripped the foot out of its chest and attempted to throw him against the nearest wall but with the shattered bone in his leg, Mercury was able to twist in an unhuman way and kick the Doll in its face. He landed hard on the stone floor but it was worth it was it.

The Bount looking face was distorted and half of the Dolls head began to look like a black blob with a dent the shape of the leg on its left side. Mercury couldn't help it, he started to laugh. It was just a light chuckle but a laugh non the less.

The Doll decided it had enough and after fixing its face and hair, it formed the frying an again and aimed for the Shinigami's face. He managed to bring his sword up to block most of the blow but because of the odd shape of the pan, it slid sideways down the blade and into his forehead.

His vision went black for a moment, and that was all the Doll needed to hit him with the broad side of the pan and send him flying into the nearest building. Right into a door.

The hard wood didn't budge though. It stayed as solid as the stone around it. Mercury kept laughing, but this time it was louder. "This isn't real!" he yelled "None of this is real! You and that stupid mist are the only thing real and-" he cut himself off, completely ending his laughter "I don't even care about your existence."

The Doll reacted badly to that and started widely attacking him. He didn't care though, he didn't care if the small street got destroyed, he didn't care if the whole world they were in ended at that very moment, none of this was real. The Doll let out a scream and lunged, but all he had to do was sidestep and the thing missed. "You had a name, what was it?" the thing attacked again. Mercury flipped out of the way and landing with a figure on his chin. "Serpenyő. That was it." Mercury said, "What a stupid name for someone weapons, you think your Bount would be a little more dignified then to have a weapon named after a kitchen item." He sighed "Oh well." He shrugged and placed both hands on his sword.

The thing panicked and tried to jump into the air, but Mercury was a Shinigami, he might as well be flying with the way he could move in the sky.

The two clashed in the air and destroyed one of the stone walls. The debris flew up into the air and crowded the sky. Glass flew up to their height and the Shinigami had to dodge to avoid getting more injury's. He had already loss his leg, it was still physically attached, but he could no longer feel it outside of just a useless weight. His world seemed to slow as one piece of glass got so close to his face he saw his own reflection. His eyes. His eyes were black. No longer did the vibrant blue reflect his planet, now they were nothing but a void.

He looked down at the building that had just been destroyed by the Dolls flying body, it was empty. Not like it had no stuff in it, but it was literally just a black voice. Nothingness. This world wasn't real. Nothing was real. None of this was real. Then what was it?

The world sped up again and the Doll swung its frying pan at his face. Mercury quickly ducked and swung upwards into the things arm. His blade sliced though like melted butter, successfully taking the Dolls arm off in the process.

If only he could use his swords ability, this would make the fight so much easier. On well, the solid piece of metal works just fine.

The Doll pushed itself up and regrew its arm. "Of course you can do that." He muttered. "Oh well, time to fight." He staggered on one leg, dragging the other behind him. He attacked the Doll again but this time it managed to push him back.

Mercury managed to land a solid punch onto the sludge like face before getting hit himself with the frying pan.

The two staggered to their feet and smirked. Together they raced forward and met in an explosion.

The heat thumbed against his skin but it seemed to be focused inwards. There was a crackling sound and the someone was yelling, but Mercury couldn't make out the words.

His fire reacted badly with whatever as pressing against his skin and soon the heat flared and the crushing sensation left. His leg had a buzzing sensation in it but it didn't feel broken, at least not the extreme as it was in the not inner world.

Slowly his mind began to slip again. The heat from his Bankai curled around him before tucking itself back into his bones. He melt the air around him shift as he fell to the ground. The first thing he felt was the soft grass, but soon that sensation left as he laid on the stone streets of his inner world.

" _Rest Mercury, then continue the fight. I'll wake you up when your ready."_

 **Ok, here are the reasons I am taking next week off. The first one is health reasons, yeah, I'm pretty sick. It's from stress so rest is the best thing I can do. The second reason is that a play I am working on opens in like 11 days and we still need to build the set so that rest for reason one, I'm probably not going to get that. Reason three, there are some major storms moving though my area at the moment and the power can go out at any moment and stay out for a very long time, my computer does not hold a charge so if the power goes out, there is no way for me to write the next chapter. Reason four, I want to work on this other story I am writing. It's the Merlin and Pirates of the Caribbean crossover that I have already published one chapter of. You can go check it out if you want, it's called Never Shall We Die. I don't know if I'm going to be able to publish the second chapter of that next week due to reason 3, but I have an idea for what I want to do and I want to get started.**

 **Anyways, please review on how you think this story is going so far and what you want me to change when I do a rewrite (because trust me, this story needs a rewrite but I want to finish it first before I go and change everything). Tell me how you want the next chapter to go or even just write your favorite character.**

 **And yes, for those of you who were wondering italics do mean a Zanpaktou is talking. I thought I made that pretty clear in earlier chapters but I did get a few DMs about that so I'd figure I'd just clarify.**


	25. Golden rain

**Chapter 25! Golden rain**

Val ran, the castle halls were empty but why did it seem like it was taking her so long. The walls seemed similar but the hall itself was completely foreign. The spacing between doors and turns were not like anything she's seen. The castle itself was built in a square like shape and the turns that this hall allowed did not fit that idea. Where was she? Was she even in the castle anymore?

Laughter filled the halls. "Who's there!" she yelled. Her brown hair whipping around. She had put them in braids that morning and now she was very grateful for that decision.

The laughter turned into a light chuckle. "I thought you were looking for me?" Mathias said in a sweet voice.

"What the hell have you done?"

"Nothing recently." the Bount shrugged, "I mean I did murder a couple of people a while back. But time is such a weird thing for me, for us, I can't tell you when that was."

"Was that for food or-"

"For fun." He smiled "I mean it's a little more complicated than that, clan rivalries and all. But I didn't bother eating their souls if that's what you're asking. Not the Humans, not the Bounts, not even the Shinigami."

Val drew her sword and took an aggressive stance. This was no time to be worried about her own health. If this man was going to try and kill her, then she should not hesitate to kill him. But she knew her ability to fight would be outmatched if she didn't play her cards right. "Hutt said he came here to talk to you. Do you know anything about that?"

"From Hutt, no. I don't deal well with the heat or the dry land. He and his sister haven't even awakened their Dolls yet so I see no reason to even be involved with them."

"Then why are they here?"

Mathias fingered his gold cufflinks, oddly he only had one on. "Why should I know. Probably teamed up with somebody because he wanted something he didn't have the power to get on his own." He gave a small smile. "You know what's odd?" he randomly asked "It's said that those who effect the air are rare, but those who effect the mind are even harder to find. However," he smirked "Those who connect with others to the point where they are the same, well, I've never met another one quite like me." He gripped his cufflink and pulled it out. "Lykke!" he summoned. The small piece of gold stretched and extended to create a large battle axe.

Val's eyes went wide. Quickly she grabbed her on hand water bottle and chugged it. She had already used up most of her supplies trying to heal those in the medical hall and she want sure if what she had on hand was enough for what this fight would enviable be. Hopefully someone would come a join her, that is, if anyone could find her.

Throwing the empty bottle to the side, she griped her sword and waited for the Bount to attack. She had no offence other than kido and basic Zanjustu. But she did have one defense.

Mathias rotated the heavy ax in his hand. The thing was taller than him and needed to be held correctly for optimum power. He shifted his weight to one side and gave an unsymmetrical smile. Slowly he began to run at the girl, swinging the weapon at her head. Val raised her sword and focused her reishi into short little bursts. Bubbles started to leak from her blade and they stopped the ax entirely. "What the hell?" he struggled. The bubbles quickly popped, but not without forcing the Doll away from her face.

"Mathias." She started slowly "I don't want to fight you. Just tell me what's going on. Are these Bounts here to kill you?"

"Some may be." He said nonchalantly as he tried to cut off her head.

Val threw herself to the ground and rolled out of the way "Then what's their real motive?" she asked. Trying to make it seem like they were having just your average conversation.

"They have two leaders, they probably have different motives." He replied simply, pushing all of his weight into a downwards swing. Val pushed herself out of the way and scrambled to her feet. The ground where she had just been standing had a large hole in it. "Can you stop dodging? This is getting annoying."

"No." her voiced cracked.

Mathias just shrugged and attacked again.

 **Line**

Elizabeta felt the death of her husband. It hurt her, it felt like something had been carved out of her soul. The heat had been pressing against her head from what was left from her doll. Something was burning it and breaking what had clung to her. She felt broken, like her very Soul was being ripped out of her. The three Shinigami in front of her looked tired and beaten but by no means ready to give up. Why was she doing this? Did the clan really mean that much to her? Rodrick was gone.

Rodrick died for the clan, so she should do the honors in following in his footsteps. Poor children though, no one would be there to mother them.

"Where's Mercury? He should be back by now?" Rensa whispered to Sky.

"Enzi," Sky muttered "Remember who we saw in the ally during out mission."

"A white-haired guy, why?"

"If this is his clan then why do you think he's attacking?"

"I really don't think now is the time to be having this conversation."

"But something isn't adding up!" he insisted. "They were trying to get the gems to Matthias and his clan, but Matthias was attacked before that by Shinigami."

"Not now Sky!" Enzi said loudly, reading his sword as he ran at the Bount. She had just been standing there clutching her head as Sky tried to figure things out.

"But that means Neo's team was the one that attacked him."

"Well they had to attack someone!" Rensa adjusted his grip on his axe and ran at Elizabeta. Sensing the attack, she pushed herself out of the way and allowed the last bit of her Doll to slip down her wrist and rest in her hand.

Everything else was gone, this was all she had left. She had felt her head in danger and sent what was ever left to protect him, now she was on her own. Poor Lilly, she had already lost so much. Her brother, Rodrick, hopefully the others will insure that the little flower won't die. She readied her weapon, it wasn't able to hold a single shape very well anymore so her traditional frying pan looked more like a small shield.

Rensa ran at her, holding his ax out and letting the blue feathers fly in the wind. "Hadō #31. Shakkahō!" he called out, infusing the kido into his ax and pushing the energy out like a wave. It was a tiring prosses, and accuracy was something to be desired. Elizabeta tried to dodge it, but the end of the wave clipped her arm. Blood trickled down her side, part of her doll detached from the weapon and went to try and seal up the wound. "Anyone ready to go Bankai?" Rensa asked.

"I don't have a Bankai!" Sky shouted.

"Neither so I!" Enzi answered. The Bount went for him this time, he solidified his blade in a shower of sparks and tried to send a shock of electricity down the Doll. Elizabeta screamed and backed off. "I'm training for it though." He laughed.

The native American cursed and put a cigarette in his mouth and lightning it. "Why is it always me?" he asked softly. "Oh well, Bankai!" he yelled. The feathers on his ax moved in the air, before wrapping around his arm and extending onto his back. Wings grew in the open space on his uniform and a feather headdress fitted his scalp. Rensa lifted himself into the air and took aim.

The fog was still thick but the visibility wasn't the problem. No, if it had just been visibility, he would have relied on sensing reishi. But the fog covered not only sight but also any way of differentiating Bounts and Shinigami. He could see well enough though. For now.

He still had his sword with him, however, with his height in the air, he didn't know how useful it would be. So instead he used his wings. The feathers on his wings could detach and be used as projectiles however, they were kind of the things holding him up so it was that wise of an idea to just let loss. Sure, he could walk in the sky but now was not the time to be thinking about back up options.

Sky's mind however, was going into overtime. If Mathias was the one Laugh, Neo, and Det fought, then why was that never brought up in the short time the Bount had been staying in the castle.

Mathias was in the castle… _Mathias_ was in the _castle!_

Mathew… their captain, he was missing, wasn't he? No, he was probably at his human job. Or had just gotten lost somewhere, Sky wouldn't put it past him. Hell, he had heard rumors that he had once gotten trapped in an alternate dimension. But that was just a rumor, spread by some kids in the R&D department who had spent a little bit too much time on the internet.

Dame it, Mathias the Bount and Mathew their captain. Why were their names so similar? Oh well, that's why they called him king and captain.

Shit, he thought as he dodged an attack from the Bount. He was getting off track. Sky quickly countered and punched the lady on the face. Elizabeta flew back and transformed her Doll into a staff to stop herself. Once she got her footing, she attacked Sky again, but got intercepted by Enzi. His Shikai gave him increased speed so it wasn't difficult to jump in front of his team mate and solidify his blade. A great thing about having increased speed is that it usually involves a slowed down perception of time. And timing was critical.

Enzi solidified his sword just as it began to pass though the Doll, effectively snapping the thing in half. Not wanting to risk the thing putting itself back together, he sent a powerful bolt of electricity at the thing and let it melt from the power.

This was it, Elizabeta knew this was the end. It wasn't hard to guess what would happen to her. It's not like the soul society could let soul sucking being run around now that they knew where they lived. If anyone survived this, then they would have to find a new home. Shame, she really liked the one they lived in at the moment. They had been there long enough for memories to be held there and the kids to have roots in the building.

Rensa launched some feathers at her, as Sky ran to attack. His fingerless gloves were stained with blood that she wasn't sure how it got there. A thought occurred to her, Sky hadn't seen Rensa attack, maybe if she… oh that was an idea.

As Sky reached her, she did the unexpected thing and pulled him forward. It threw him off balance and he hit the ground hard, just as the needle like feathers reached them.

They hurt, they hurt like nothing else, but she would like. She had a meat shield.

Enzi ran to Sky's aid, and tried to put up a small shield between them. But in doing so, he put his back to Elizabeta.

She turned what was left of her Doll into a small knife and stabbed Enzi.

Rensa, who had already turned to fly to the ground so try and help Sky, saw this and dived to attack. He grabbed the woman's throat and used his ax against her.


	26. Shadows darkness

**Chapter 26! Shadows darkness**

When the Captain was away, the lieutenant was meant to take charge. But when both the captain and the lieutenant are gone, where the third seats supposed to take charge? Well, they probably win their battle first. One problem though, they were fighting someone who was way more powerful then all three on them combined.

Raven knew this for a fact, he hadn't always been liked that, but everyone changes. They all had changed. He had begun to show signs of this about half way threw her human life and had continued to change as she grew older. She really didn't notice it at first, it wasn't something one would notice. He had slowly become more protective, more territorial, more willing to go out of his way for something he never would have before. She hadn't really noticed it, and when she did, she thought nothing of it. Those traits didn't seem like a bad thing to her. Gilbert use to be fun loving and annoying, she remembered stories from her life about him as a child, she remembered him and how he used to be. She remembered how the towns people hated him, how they said his red eyes were signs of the devil. Signs of how his soul was tainted and how he was descended for hell.

Well, they weren't wrong per say. Her adopted mother had found her after her actually mother had been murdered. She told her what they did and why they had to do it. None of them liked it, but they all figured that they would pay for it once they died, so until then they did what they had to do. Eating souls of the dead was no what they wanted, but as long as they were dead it was alright. Raven did the same, she helped feed her human siblings with meat and bread she stole and lead the towns people of the trail of their parents.

It had been hard, and when the towns people started to understand what was happening, they had come after them. Gil's father, Folkert, did everything in his power to protect the clan, but he didn't want to harm human outside of what was necessary. Gil never understood that. If they were attacking them, then they should have the right to defend themselves. But Fol wouldn't let him kill anyone. Fol died that night, he had been the only one to do so. He had made it through the battle with the humans, but when the Shinigami came, he didn't stand a chance. "Humans are still humans, weather they're dead or not." Fol insisted. It was the last thing he had said to them. His Doll was defensive, the only reason he had one was to protect them. Gil swore revenge against them.

That was when he started to change. It was when they all started to change. Raven knew what would happen when she died, she knew she would join the people who had created then destroyed her family. She promised her family that she would train, she promised her family that she would get a Zanpaktou and learn how to use it. She wanted to learn how to use a power similar to a Doll. She wanted to be like her family.

But Gil didn't want her to. He was very against her entered the court of per souls, said if she ever ended up in that after life, that she better just stay in the small towns surrounding it. Try and make it to some of them with better conditions and enough food to feed her, for even as a human she had high reishi, but never got to close were she actually encountered a Shinigami. No one ever took much thought to his rule, the chances that any of the human kids enter that after life wasn't very high, they would probably either become a hollow or end up in hell. Or, in the chance that only appeared in their nightmares, in one of their parents' stomach. It was a grizzly thought to think on so all the kids tried to push it out of their thoughts. But none of them could say the idea had never crossed their minds.

Raven remembered playing with her brothers and sisters. There weren't many of them, but she could never say she felt like an only child. This was her family, they had cared for her. Throughout her entire life, they had been there for her, or at the very least she knew where they were. Unlike now where she had to hide the truth and just accept the fact that their king was missing and no one really cared.

"He'll be back." They would all say. "His copies aren't dead yet." They would insist "Well, most of them."

She doesn't know why they all had come upon the idea that if Captain Crawford died so would all the other kings. The more likely scenario would be that one just end up taking his place and everyone would continue about their daily business.

That's wasn't how things were with her family in life.

Ludwig, although technically younger, was next in line to become head after Fol's death, but really it was Gil who started bossing everyone around. Lud just wasn't ready. Ludwig looked just like Fol, blond hair, blue eyes, and eternal scowl. Though, Raven doubted that they ever really meant the scowl, that was just their face. Unlike Ludwig though, Folkert's eyes had a slight green hue to them, no one really brought that up when they told the Bount how much he looked like the last head.

She remembered when he first met his now husband, Feliciano. Apparently Fol hated Feliciano's clan head and Feliciano's brother hated Ludwig. But neither of them cared though, they loved each other to much. That was the only time Raven ever saw true love. Elizabeta and Rodrick had been in an arranged marriage, but they had learned to love each other over time. The way the two met would speak anything of love, but that's what probably brought them closer together.

Poor Ludwig, he had lost everything. His brother seamed liked he was going insane if the reishi leaking off of he was anything to go by. Ludwig didn't seem to be faring much better, but something was anchoring him to sanity. Probably his husband, he had so much joy and energy, it made up for Luds utter lack of it.

Raven tried not to think of her life to much, it reminded her of her promises she made, and all the promises she knew that she had, and will have to, completely ignore.

Right now, what was going on, every promise that had even been made to her or around her, would all but be forgotten by the two sides. She misses them, but what they were doing now, it didn't matter. What they were doing now, it was unacceptable.

She didn't know who hurt the third seats, she wanted to blame Ludwig and Gilbert, but for some reason she couldn't. Something didn't add up, something was missing. Someone else probably had the answers but that wasn't her and it was frustrating. These were the people she had known all of her human life, and now she felt like they were closer to strangers than anything else.

But that didn't mean they didn't hurt her family, they were currently hurting her family.

Wan seemed to have been struggling with something, it appeared to be internal so it was probably his Zanpaktou. Wan was unique when it came to his relationship with his spirit, they didn't seem to get along and when they did it was always conflicting. He looked ok now, but who knows how long that'll last.

She remembered what he had told he about his spirits, how there was tow of them. "Like a devil and an angle on your shoulders." She had said as a joke, but Wan just nodded and continued on with what he was saying. He probably just thought she was making a statement, not trying to lighten up the mode.

Out of all the Shinigami who resided in the castle, Wan was probably the one she felt most at ease around. That is if you didn't include Vampire Tekking. But she didn't, he was a copy, he wasn't real she told herself.

What was real and what was fake were things drilled into he as a human. It wasn't uncommon in their clan that Dolls messed with someone's mind or their perception of reality. She was told that back in the clans height, the rare trait was actually the most common, each Bount having their own spin on it.

She learned to keep her mouth shut and learn to take thing with a grain of salt. What one would see as absolute fact, she would see as something to be doubted. She loved her mother and everyone who took care of her in her human life, but what they were doing right now could not be ignored.

She whipped off the last of Elizabeta's Doll and stood by her team mates. Mercury laid on the ground by them, he looked like he might wake up soon, maybe. Soon they would be on the move again, this time tracking Tom. They had heard him scream and Ludwig probably was with him if the sound of his Doll was anything to go by. Tom loved to fight but his tiny little meat cleaver was probably one of the worse weapons you could have against electricity.

Electricity and speed, she reminded herself. Not only was Ludwig able to kill you, he would do it and be gone before a normal Shinigami would even have time to reach for their sword. But they weren't normal Shinigami. Almost all of them were captain class and the ones who weren't were certainly able to go toe to toe with one. Granted they may not always win, but it really was all a matter of technique.

Raven ran with her sword out and away from her body, the dark flames were still a threat to her, just like Mercury's. She remerbered trying to hold a conversation with the boy about how to get around that, she honestly doesn't think that he was even paying attachtion to the conversation at all. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to hold it over a game of poker. Oh well.

Wan still had an active Shikai but kept its reach at minimal so not to get snagged on anything on the way, or leave a noticeable trail of where they were going. The grounds outside of the castle seamed empty, it wasn't right. Raven knew that her family was out here fighting, but she couldn't feel them. She felt alone.

Wan looked over at her and smiled. "It'll be ok." He reassured her. "Maybe not right now, but it will be soon."

Raven allowed herself to smile in return. "You seam different."

"I need to be ready."

"Ready for what?"

"What needs to be done."

Raven let the smile drop "Promise me something Wan."

"Yeah?"

"Please don't let me lose any more of my family."

"Yeah, I can do that."

 **Do you guys like this chapter? It's something a little bit different I wanted to try. I was getting tired of writing battle after battle, especially since I've never written a battle story before so I always worry about how it is going to turn out. I also made an effort to limit dialogue in this chapter because I felt like it would take away from what was happening. Keep in mind that this chapter really take up no time in the world that they are in. To them it's still just a few days before Christmas and from begin to end the characters only move a couple of yard, almost all of which is done in the last couple of sentences.**


	27. Confusion

**Chapter 27! Confusion**

Soul moved through the crowd, it was hard to tell who was friend and who was foe if you weren't paying too much attaching to their reishi. The mist made that extra difficult, it seemed to absorb and spread out everyone signature, and the use of kido was only making it more difficult. Soul understood that many had gotten into the demon art because they had a kido master in their castle, but that didn't change the fact that the wide spread use of the power made everything very confusing.

Soul had long since given up trying to find Atticus. He was strong, he would survive. Soul and their team had a target, that little girl. They had devised a loss concept of what one may call a plan, but because of their lack of experience together as a whole team, they were unsure who successful it would be. Soul had been trying to put some effort into controlling their emotion, but ultimately decided it would be better to just channel it into the fight.

Now they just had to get to the fight. The girl had been tricky, every swing the reaper would take would just go through her like mist and she would fade away. "Maybe they aren't real?" Naruto suggested, not looking where she was running. "Maybe they're just illusions?"

Jim shook his head "No, I don't think so. It seems like she's using the mist to get around." He said, not looking at her.

"You think she can hurt us with it?"

"You can get hurt by anything." Amulet said with a half-smile, just sparing a glance at her team mates. "Maybe there's a period of time where you can hit her."

"Like when she's hitting us?" Jim suggested. "Or maybe when she just appears?"

The group stopped and stood still in the middle of the field. Everything seemed silent, they couldn't hear the battles going on or feel the heat from Mercury. It was perfectly silent and perfectly still. The group all readied their swords. "Soul?" Naruto said slowly. "If you see her, I want you to run."

"What?"

"I need you to run, you're the fastest. You have to run."

Amulet looked over "Naruto? That's not part of the plan."

"Shh, it'll work." She insisted. "You can still do your part of the plan, Jim to. But Soul, I need you to run and use your power."

Soul didn't know what was going on, but if it got them closer to hitting something, that was good. The group of four pressed themselves back to back so each was looking into a different direction. The mist started to change color in front of Jim and Lilly took a swing at him.

Jim ducked down and Soul disappeared. Naruto and Amulet both activated their Shikai and swung at where Jim's head use to be. "Come forth and give me your power!" Naruto cried as her sword changed colors to a wispy gray that matched the color of Amulet Shikai mist. The disorientating effect of Amulets mist caused Lilly to lose track of where the Shinigami were. Both Naruto and Amulet froze in place and Naruto pushed her energy into her swords color. If Naruto moved, she would lose all of her reiatsu, if Amulet moved, her mist would disappear. Jim just waited for the perfect moment.

Soul sped through the mist and went straight for Lilly. They had already released their sword and the mist was beginning to swirl around them. Naruto forced Souls mist to move with them so they wouldn't get hurt by their own power. The wispy gray was a very difficult ability for her to use as it was not a color of her rainbow, and she had to use it properly the first try or Soul would get seriously hurt. But their mist was closer to poison then mist, but she didn't want to risk it.

Soul reached out with their mist. They could feel their reishi start to fade away from Amulet's mist but as long as they made it, then this would work.

Lilly screamed bloody murder but quickly got over it. "What was that?" she managed to get out between her ragged breaths.

"The pain of every single creature you've ever hurt."

"Good thing I've only ever hurt you." She smiled. "But your friends on the other hand." She drew out.

Naruto tried to push the purply mist away, but if she diverted any more attaching away from Soul, they would get hurt by their own attack. Amulet turned transparent but Jim didn't have any defense. Naruto changed the color of her sword again to purple and forced the poison away from Jim and onto her. Soul would just have to deal.

Naruto's screams stopped all other fights. Raven could feel the pain that Naruto was feeling. Wan could hear it to, but it was muffled. "Raven?"

"Yeah," she nodded "its Naruto."

Wan kept running, trying to keep a feeling out for Tom "She's on a team with Soul right? Their power inflicts pain."

"Only to killers."

"Naruto was a killer in her human life." He said darkly. "That's how she died remember, a botched murder."

"Now's not the time to think about that, just be glad we're not over there right now. We have our own team to worry about."

Wan nods and continues to run. Tom was just ahead. Tom needed their help. He had just been beside them, talking to them, and then he was gone. They could hear him laughing, they could hear him screaming, they could hear him fighting.

The mist was so confusing, it's like they were surrounded by a war, but also it felt like they were completely isolated.

Tom screamed again, this time loader, his screams matched Naruto's but hers seamed so far away. "Tom!" Wan yelled, but he got no response. The two stopped and looked around. All around them was Toms reishi, mixing with the air and mist. The electricity in this area was also very low, barely noticeable. "Tom, where are you?"

Wan stayed still but Raven kept moving, he was here, Ludwig was just through this mist and he had her friend. Ludwig, she would have to fight him for real, she wouldn't hold anything back, and neither would he. Raven continued to run, at human speed, not flash step. She wanted to see if she could find anything that you would only see if you were paying attention. She did. A few drops of bright red blood were splattered across the group and were beginning to mix with the mud. It was a trail of blood not just a collection from a single attack.

Tom could draw out more blood on a single attack than any other Shinigami but it was Ludwig's ability that worried her. He didn't draw any blood in his battles, he moved to quickly to be caught, and only ever stopped to fed or protect his family.

She quickly singled for Wan to follow her and she set off in the direction of the blood trail. It was heading to the left of her original direction, but she didn't want to take any chances. She slowly created a small mouse like creature out of shadows and let it run into the mist.

Raven let her sword fall lose by her side as she ran.

Right in front of her was Ludwig, he was right there, she could see him but he couldn't see her. She slipped into the shadow and let Wan suppress his reishi so they could keep the element of surprise. On the ground was Tom, he wasn't moving, but he lacked any signs of Ludwig's attack. There was no electricity in the air, there was only the faint fell of blood.

Tom slowly opened his eyes. With his head to the ground he could hear the footsteps of his teammates so he knew it was time to get ready. But he felt so tired. All he wanted to do was to sleep, no, he had to fight. That was why he was here. His job was to fight, his job was to kill the Bount. He had been denied from entered the 11th squad because of how blood thirsty he was, now was not the time to calm down and take a nap, he wasn't Rensa.

Everything felt like it slowed down. Wan crouched in the mist, Tom caught his eyes and smiled, telling him that he was relatively ok. They waited, Raven would pop out of the shadows and any minute now and attack Ludwig.

Any minute now.

They waited.

She didn't come

They continued to wait.

She wasn't coming.

Was it worth waiting?

She won't come.

Something was stopping her from coming.

The two waited for a moment, trying to silently decide whether they should attack without Raven.

Ludwig did nothing. It was if he was waiting with him, for the once human who had joined their ranks. But she won't come, they knew it would be pointless. She had completely disappeared.

"Well, if she's not coming, you might as well get off the ground." The Bount suggested, holding out a hand.

Tom turned his head and starred at the German. "What?"

"I know you guys were planning on a surprise attack but Kisomaru clearly isn't following the same plan." He tried to give a small smile but it ended up creepier then reassuring. "You to," He called out to Wan. "I can see you out there."

Wan slowly raised himself from the ground, his sword ready. He had it slightly longer than usual but not too much where it became more of a hassle then an asset. "Why are you attacking us?" He asked again. He knew he want going to get a good answer but it was worth asking anyways.

"To get back what was ours."

"Thanks for a different answer." Wan muttered under his breath and he walked forward. "Why now?"

Ludwig shrugged "We can't really enter the soul society without being killed. I have a life here, I'm not going to die."

"You're doing a horrible job at that." Tom laughed, flipping himself to his feet. "I can already tell that a couple of your family is already dead, if your here trying to protect your life, then maybe you should try and protect them people that's in it."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

Neither of the Shinigami answered. Instead, Tom adjusted his small cleaver in his hand and ran for the Bount. His attacks were wild and almost hit himself several times on his back swing. Ludwig was so busy trying to not die a horrible and gruesome death, he didn't notice Wan sneaking up on him.

Wan and Jim's power were very similar in it gives them the ability to extend their sword, but their weakness were very different.

Wan needed to keep calm, he needed to not lose control of his emotions or else he would lose himself. If he loses any control, he would be unable to access his Bankai. He had never been able to do it before, but maybe, just maybe, he would reach that state just long enough to fight the Boss.

 **Ok, so I got into Undertale and had to write this last minute, literally I wrote more than half of this the day I have to publish it which is why it's coming out so late into the day. But as I was writing this I feel like that I had made a mistake in the previous chapter regarding someone's power. If any of you know who that was please tell me. I know I'm going to rewrite this anyways but for those of you who are reading this now, it would mean a lot. It involved Wan and Jim but I can't find it rereading the old chapters. But yeah, I finished the game and it's the best game of all time and I now want to make a cosplay for it. So you might lose me over the summer.**


	28. Black Ice, Silver Sword

**Chapter 28! Black Ice, Silver Sword**

 **Please read and review**

Val laid on the castles stone floor, bloodied and barley being held together by her own red ice. She was panting and dehydrated and she could fell her reishi slipping away. The battle between her and Mathias had gone exactly as she had predicted, utter defeat. She had given up on maintaining her Shikai when she realized that she no longer had to reishi to maintain it.

She had barley been able to put up a fight. Some small kido put a few scratches on the Bounts while the bubbles kept the axe away from any vital organs, but there was little else she could do. Her basic sword techniques were weak and not meant to be fighting against an ax. Mathias had creamed her, now she didn't even have enough energy, or water, to form another bubble if she still had her Zanpaktou active.

Val was an interesting case when it came to her Zanpaktou spirit. She almost never talked to the thing. She could hear it laughed when she did something stupid, and no was one of those times. If the Bount didn't finish her off, then her red ice would. Done in by her own power, the medic kind of figured that she's be going this way but she had hoped that whoever she was fighting would have been more injured then this. Almost all the blood staining the floor was hers and those what weren't were far in the minority. She had used up all her blood replenishing pills back in the medical ward. Some small specs here and there were from the Bount, but almost all of that was coming from the small scratch on his cheek and neck. She didn't even have the energy to heal herself, and if she did, she would have just used to keep fighting.

"Did you really think that you could defeat me?" Mathias laughed.

"Honestly no." Val breathed out. She smiled and tried to laugh but ended up coughing up a small amount of blood. "I was just hoping to stall you." She tried to keep smiling, even as blood stained her teeth.

"Stall for what?" He scoffed.

"Who's know?" She laughed. "I don't think I need a miracle, I just need-"

"Me."

"What!" Mathias turned around just in time for Atticus to swing his sword across the Bounts chest. Mathias screamed and tumbled back, barely missing Val.

"Hey." Atticus smiled, leaning down to the medics' level.

"Your late."

"Yeah, I know. Do you feel up for a fight?" Val shook her head.

"I wish." As much as she wanted to get up and kick Mathias butt, if she still had the strength to do that, she would have done it already.

"Alright, stay still for me." He said softly and started crafting a complex kido spell to transfer his Reishi to her. "I can't heal you, but use this to heal yourself." She nodded again, already feeling her strength starting to return to her. Of course it wasn't hers, but it will do in a pinch.

"Didn't know you could do that." She said as she slowly started to heal herself and remove the red ice from her body. She could feel the frost bite stinging her skin but she quickly dulled the pain and continued on with the task.

"What do you think you're doing?" The Bount laughed "Do you really think you have the power to defeat me?"

"I'm the Lieutenant of squad 101. If I didn't have the power to end you, I might as well just quit." He smirked "I'm sure one of the third seats would be happy to take over my position."

The Bount pushed himself of the ground, grabbed his axe, and ran for Atticus. "How'd you even get in here?" he demanded as he clashed with the lieutenant. The Shinigami blocked the attack and quickly had to duck under the Doll. He still had his sealed sword pressed up against the metal so instead he reached down and grabbed his sheath. Using the thing, he whacked the blond in the head and quickly kicked him in the stomach. His moves were swift and calculated, but at the same time raw and instinctual.

Val shuffled back a little, trying not to get in the way of the fight. She didn't want to get more injured then she already was before she had a chance to heal herself. She had managed to slow the blood lost on most of the wounds already but with the limited amount of reishi she had to work with, she had to be picky about how she did her work and which cut she chose to close. She stopped the bleeding on the smaller ones and shallowed the cuts on the deeper ones. Once that was done, she would need to start replenishing her blood.

She always knew she wasn't one for the battle field but, man, was it annoying when she was so close and could do nothing.Even just watching them fight made her want to get out there and do something. It was the reason why she often isolated herself to where she was needed and not where she was.

That Bount, he had said something that sparked her interest, " _how'd you even get in here?_ " Where was here? The castle? No. She had noticed the odd things when the Bount first appeared. Something was not right with the stone work around her. The castle, did she know where she was? Atticus, how's he know where she was.

Atticus himself was too busy fighting the Bount for Val to ask him. He seemed like he wasn't even trying. He hadn't even activated his Shikai yet, nor was he using any kido. Just per muscle memory.

Mathias quickly regained his footing and tried to cut the Shinigami in half. Swinging sideways, the Bount aimed for the vulnerable internal organs but instead of hitting them, all he got was the swords sheath. The wood cracked but did not break. Atticus braced the wood against the back of his arm and pushed the Bount back.

"What do you think you're going to accomplishes? In doing this? I understand the blond leaders, he's relationship with Raven. I know the albino has his own goals. But what are your?" he questioned.

The blond didn't answer, instead, he twisted his ax and lifted it over his head. Slowly, the space around him started to shift and warp. Two large best formed beside the Bount, both a shimmering dark red that could easily be mistaken for black. Not liking the look of them, Val quickly finished up her healing kido and forced herself to her feet. "Since when can he do that?" she asked, shuffling to the lieutenants' side.

"He can't," Atticus mumbled just load enough for Val to hear. "They're not real."

"What?"

"None of this is real."

"Very good." Mathias laughed as he moved his monsters, one in front of him and one to his side. "But just because they aren't real, doesn't mean they can't hurt you." He grabbed the scuff of a monster's neck and swung himself onto its back. The thing looked somethings like a lion but that wasn't quite right, it stood on two legs and had fang like teeth sticking out of its upper jaw. The beast scoffed its foot on the ground twice before shaking its head. "There, there, Lukasu. You'll be fed soon enough, and then we can return you to your master. We just need to end these pesky little flies first."

The beast made a noise in response before charging.

Val had just enough time to throw herself to the side before the thing destroyed the wall that she had just been leading on. "Can you do anything?" Atticus asked in a concerned voice as he whipped around to face the Bount. He sounded much more tired than he did a moment before.

Val kept her back to the lieutenant to keep an eye at the second beast who had yet to move. "At the moment no." she shook her head. The second beast looked something like a bird and was a darker color then the one that Bount rode.

"Did you use all of that reishi?"

"No, just all of my water."

Atticus nodded and reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small water bottle about the size of his hand. "It's not much, but it's all I could grab on my way over here."

"Did you come looking for me?" Val gratefully took the bottle and quickly emptied the it of its liquid.

"Yeah, but finding you was what took me so long."

"What do you mean by this isn't real?" she waved her arm around loosely "Seams pretty real to me."

"His Doll is what's doing this. It comes in two stages." He started "First one is his offence, the second is the setting."

"Very good!" Mathias smiled as his beast pushed its self out of the wall and shuffled around to face the two." Mathias jumped off the thing and moved to the side with his ax on his shoulder. "I mean, that's not quite right, but better then what most would suggest." Meanwhile the one facing Val just backed up. "What are you doing!" Mathias screamed at the Doll. "Attack!" The Beast shuffled a bit before running at Val.

Not wanting to risk wasting what was left of the barrowed reishi, Val didn't use any kido or release her Shikai. Instead she followed Atticus's lead and only used her raw sword. Her techniques were poor but it helped protect her from the beak of the thing.

It peaked at her and tried to hit her with its wings, but she just ducked and swung her sword across its chest. But, it the metal went right through it.

The medic was shocked but she tried not to let it show. "It's not real." She said to herself. She quickly looked at Atticus. He was busy with his standoff with Mathias. Neither the Shinigami, nor the Beast moved. But Atticus was keeping his attraction split between the Bount and the lion looking thing. If what she thought was real, well, no use having the lieutenant be distracted. She glanced back and forth between Mathias and Atticus, well, no time like the present. "Hey Atticus! Watch this!" she yelled as she threw her sword to the side and ran head first at the bird.

"Wait! No!" Mathis yelled, reaching out to try and stop her, but Val was far from caring what that Bount thought.

She ran, reaching out for the Doll and not even bothering to brace herself.

She ran right threw it.

Val skid to a stop on the other side and smirked. "You were right Atticus. None of this is real. The only thing that is, is me, and you, and that Bount."

Atticus turned to look at Mathias, who was holding the ax with a considerable lose grip. He quickly got over it however, as he ran for the two. Specifically, towards Val.

The girl did a summersault to avoid the side swing of the ax and kicked him in the chin. Atticus flash stepped behind the Bount and aimed for his head. He was blocked however, by the golden ax. "No, no, no!" the Bount panicked "I won't let this happen! I can't let this happen!"

"Give it up Mathias, you don't deserve to hold the name of our king." Atticus deadpanned.

"No! I will win! I will claim the crown of the Bounts! I will prove to Lukas that I am worthy!" he screamed as he pushed himself away from the two Shinigami and held his ax above his head. "Reveal your true form!"

 **DUDE! Did you see who won The Legendary Gotei 13 Contest? I did, they will be mentioned. Maybe, hopefully. Or at least I will try. I mean how can I not. I didn't win, but dude, I lost to the plant person. I mean, if I am going to lose, I'm glad it was to them. I really like any design that works with plants. Anyways, if I can't find a to at least mention them in this story, they will be brought up in the rewrite. I can't decide if I should just rewrite this story on this file or just start a new story on my profile.**


	29. A Person or Two

**Chapter 29! A Person or Two**

Laugh loved her family, she loved the people she was surrounded by in the castle. But she always had her doubts. She remembered her human life, vaguely, well enough to talk about it, but not enough to feel grief over her death. She knew that logically her killer had entered the soul society not long after she did, but she could never feel the need hunt them down or get revenge. She liked the soul society, it reminded her of her life but it was different enough to let her move on. She was very fond of the castle and she very fond of her team

But now she was starting to doubt all of that.

It may come as a surprise but Laugh knew a lot more then she let on. She knew every detail of what everyone was capable of, she had helped king pick the winners, if you could call them that. She didn't know what to except when she handed in her entry for the new squad that the soul society had decided to form. She wasn't sure why they had decided that a new squad should be formed so many centuries after the first 13. At least, she wasn't sure at first.

Now she knew why. She knew the multiple reasons why.

But, that wasn't the matter right now, she should be focusing on the battle. She should be preparing to kill someone. But her mind keeps slipping. Perhaps if she just emptied her mind this would be easier.

She and her team were facing off against the white haired Bount. Over all, when they had first run into him, he was pretty chill. He had greeted them with a small smile and introduced himself and Gilbert. He ever held his hand out as if expecting someone to shake it. No one did and he just shrugged it off and shoved his hands in his pockets. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Well, aren't you going to introduced yourself? I do prefer knowing the names of the people I kill." He asked, leaning forward and teetering on the heels of his feet.

Neo stepped forward and put his arm out in front of Laugh and Det. "You're not going to be able to kill us." He said sternly. "Trust me. We don't go down that easily."

"That's not how I remember things going down." He laughed "Though you did put up one hell of a fight, so I'll give you that much."

"What do you mean?" Det asked, slowly putting his hand in Neos arm. He had been hanging behind Laugh, his limited moments had made his slow in arriving to their new location. He had moved his headphones to around his neck but he also had some smaller ones in his pocket for his teammates, but they were only in case of an emergency. Slowly, so not to be noticed, he slipped both of the pairs into Laughs hand. She would understand what it meant and get the second one to Neo.

"Just because I didn't fight you doesn't mean I don't know what happened." He shrugged again, taking a few steps forward. He reached up and touched his earing with his left hand. "Or do you not remember that happening. I could fight you right now, and know all your littler trick and you won't even know which ones would even work?"

"Not going to lie," Det started "I don't really want to."

Gil let out a weak laugh, a puff of smoke flowing out of his mouth, and pointed to the Shinigami. "I like you kid. Your honest. We don't see that much nowadays. But-"

"But?"

Gilbert sighed and continued to walk towards the group of three. He kept the cigarette away from his face but not in a fashion that would tire his arms. "I'm afraid that you have something that I need." He said without emotion.

"And _what_ exactly would that be?" Laugh asked, pocketing the ear protection in the same movement she used to reach for her sword.

"More of a who really. Those it's the location that really matter here, not the person. A person needs to die here tonight." He looked up "Its night, right? I honestly don't even know."

"I'll need a little more than that buddy. Like who this person is." Neo said as he put a hand on his sword as well. He felt Laughs hand slid into his pocket and leave something in there, but he didn't have time to check what that was.

"A king. There is a king on this land that does not belong. Now is the only time that he will be able to be killed else it'll be my grave my family will be digging." Gil let out one last puff of smoke before stamping out the cigar. "Nasty things those are" he joked "but they help with the migraines so you really can't complain that much."

"Last chance to turn back." Neo said, but Gil just shook his head.

"Sorry kid. I really can't do that." No one moved for a second, then two. Suddenly, like an unspoken command was given, all three of the Shinigami drew their swords and summoned their Shikai. Gilberts eyes widened but he shrugged and reached for his earing. "Show yourself! Vogel!" he called out.

The air once again changed in power. It was getting to the point where nobody even looked up from their own fights. The only one who did, was Ludwig. "Brother." He whispered. He was distracted long enough to get a cut on his cheek from Toms meat cleaver. The blood started flowing like a water fall. True it was a decent sized cut, but not that deep.

"Good to know that still works." He laughed. "I was getting worried there for a second. Guess I didn't land any good hits." He jumped back, avoiding a punch from the Bount. "Hey Wan. I know you can do somethings that are pretty awesome. So pick one and use it. Don't leave me here to deal with this alone. You know how well that will work out." He joked. Trying to remind his teammate of his low stamina without telling their enemy. If Ludwig found out, he could drag out their battle and untimely use it to his advantage.

"I'm not going to fight you if you don't put some effort into it." The Bount said, ducking to avoid getting stabbed by Wan.

Ludwig crackled and disappeared, leaving behind a showering of electricity. He moved behind Wan and tried to shock him. Wan ducked and let Tom swing over his head. Ludwig took the hit on his arm and went for the Shinigami.

"What are you here for that you can't normally get?" Wan asked again, moving from behind the Bount to next to Tom.

"A person." He simply replied.

"Why can't you just give us a straight answer?" Tom complained. "Is it really that hard. Just say 'I'm here to kill your king.' Or Something like that!"

Ludwig shook his head "I'm not here for your captain." He said "I'm here for my little girl."

There was something about how he said that that made Wan snapped. "She's not your!" he yelled, jumping at the Bount once again. "She died and she's one of us now! What is the point of all this! You risking your entire clan for someone who has already moved on! She's dead! Get over it! Take Lilly and leave you Bount!" Screw Bankai, he didn't even know what it was so there was no use trying to access it in the middle of a fight. He had a perfectly powerful attack at his disposal, all he had to give up was a little sanity. That was fine.

"Good to know you've picked one." Tom smiled as he watched the gantlets form on Wans hands.

* * *

Up in the castle, some of the unseated officers still remained. They all were running around a dark metal room with hanging lights above. "Steve!" yelled on of the guys with a bandana that covered his eyes and head "Have you collected the data and conversations from all the battles yet?"

"Yes Christoph!" Yelled back a pudgy guy with hair on only the left side of his head. "I even color coded it for you!" he said in a mocking tone.

"Good! Let me see." Christoph said, grabbing it from Stevens hand. Only to realize his mistake and give it back. "It's not in brail."

"You want me to read it to you?" he smirked.

"Yes." Christoph growled.

Steve sighed and looked at the packet. "There are currently three to four different motives that the Bounts have expressed. The Bount named Hutt seems to have no real problem with us Shinigami so he probably is only here for convince of his goals. I believe he's after Mathias. We have that information colored purple." He turned a page and looked at the stuff highlighted in pink. "As for Mathias. We believe he has been using the castle as a cover. Something is blocking our receptors so we only have a vague idea of what his goals are. Not everything we send in is being sent back. He's after something."

"And he's somehow blocking us from knowing." Christoph turned around and placed his hand on his chin. "What about his power? Any idea?"

"It's a two-stage ability. But it seems to branch off of that. While it's in its second phase, the Bount seems to be able to manipulate a few things. The monsters show resemblance to the previous Bounts that have attacked us." Steve ran his hand through his remaining hair "Maybe when it's in its second stage, it can draw on the abilities of those that allow it to do so. That's why he hasn't used any of the current Bounts ability's."

"What about what he's doing right now?"

"There's no outside indication that what he's doing is actually real so it's probably something he can only do while in his second stage."

"Have you ever heard of a Doll that can do something like that?" Christoph asked.

"I was looking into that. Earlier he mentioned something about him being the only one who can do such things so I'm going with that the theory that he's unique among the Bounts."

"Do you think he's eaten living souls?"

"It's possible but we don't have anything to prove or even hint at that." He sighed. "But about the other Bounts. We don't have much information on them either."

"You mentioned their motives? You haven't mentioned Gilbert and Ludwig yet."

"Ludwig's motives seam to entirely revolve around Raven." Steve flipped through the papers, finding the blue highlight. "Apparently when she was alive, she lived with the Bounts. And now that's she's dead, they want something from her. Apparently, they are not happy that she became a Shinigami."

"She died and entered the soul society. She had high amounts of spiritual pressure. What did they think was going to happen?"

"Who knows."

"What about the white haired one?"

"Gilbert." He's here to kill. I believe he's the only one who is really after a life. But who that is, is still a mystery."

"He mentioned a king." Christoph said, leaning on to Steve's shoulder and poking the papers for no reason.

"Yes, there's three that he could be talking about."

"Three?"

"Captain Crawford. The Northern king of Bounts, Mathias. Or Gilberts brother."

"You think that he would kill his own brother?"

"It's always a possibility."

Christoph laughed "You and your possibility's."

* * *

 **OK! Flash talk. While there will be a chapter next week, theyre wont be one the week after that. I am going to a theater competition to compete with a few thousand others and neither of my pieces are really complete yet. Plus, I have been signed up for the comity sports section of it and I've never done that before. Minor stress there and I really need the week off. Telling you now so I can remind myself. So feel free to review!**


	30. Memories

**Chapter 30! Memories**

 **No new chapter next week! I already talked about the reasons why last week. Also, apologies for the slightly shorter chapter this week.**

There were two to three people in the Castle who died in an importin way. Well, everyone's death is important, but to the castle, to each other, only three were worth talking about. And it was funny, it was those three deaths that those who experienced them refused to fully talk about. Two of them had mentioned it, but they didn't connect the dots. And one, well her story was being unraveled as she fought.

Naruto died after killing someone. Some would say that that action should have condemned her to Hell. But Hell was a funny thing, almost difficult to get in. It wasn't your actions that sent you there, but your intent. Naruto and her brother killed for a living, it was their job and their families job. They had no ill intent, they were just trying to survive. She didn't go to hell, and neither did her brother.

Naruto's fight with the little girl gave her conflicting feelings. Sure, they were in a fight and as a Shinigami it was her job to kill those who threatened the order of the soul cycle. Or at least that was what she was taught in the academy. She never really did care about what the academy taught her. As far as she was concerned, it was a learn on the job kind of thing.

And she was learning right now, she was learning more than she ever learned in such a short amount of time. It sounded cheesy, but that's how it was. Since the beginning of the fight, she felt like something new had been unlocked inside of her. But what she didn't know.

Before all of this, Naruto knew next to nothing about Bounts, and now she was picking apart a little girls' ability and trying to lead her group. She could use her mist to get around, the mist was most likely her Doll.

But her teams mist was deadly, especially to her. Especially Souls mist.

The amount of pain she was experiencing was beyond anything she was capable of handing out. It was beyond anything she even thought was even possible or possible to imagine. It felt like it lasted for an eternity, even though she knew it only lasted a few seconds. She felt like she was being ripped apart and thrown back together, slowly dyeing and then waking back up again. Getting slapped in the face and being punched in the gut. A hot blade being torn threw her and burning sand whipping against her cheeks and eyes.

Soul, realizing what was going on, quickly withdrew their mist and drew back. They had forgotten what Naruto had done during her life and they had forgotten what all Shinigami had to do. Causing pain to a hollow was still causing pain. But Lilly, she was too young to have really dealt anyone any real pain. The book on bounts had said that the possess of consuming a soul was painless, and her Doll didn't really do anything by itself. Before all of this, she had probably just stayed at home, playing with dolls.

"Naruto." They said, trying to keep the panic out of their voice, but at the same time, taking their eyes off of the Bount. This proved to be a big mistake as Lilly disappeared into the mist. "Dame it!" They yelled.

"Don't move!" Demanded Amulet. "I'm retracting my mist now."

Slowly, the air became clear of almost all of the mist and visibility went from 20% to 80%. Still not perfect, but better. Jim ran to Naruto's side and started attempting to heal her, but there was nothing to heal. "She's not hurt."

"But she won't wake up." Soul said. "Its phycological pain, memories really. She will wake up, but I don't know when." They looked at their teammates body "Well move her." They said.

"Soul!" Amulet scolded. "You can't just say that!"

"Do you want to be stepping on her." They asked.

"Of course not-" Amulet stopped herself and turned around, hearing a childes laugh. "Guys get ready, it's not over yet."

The remaining three bunched together and prepared themselves, moving away from Naruto. Lilly appeared again and went for Amulet. The little girl tried to punch her, but Amulet grabbed her arm and went for her gut.

Lilly tried to fade away, but Amulet went with her.

"And now there's two." Jim said, looking around.

Silence. Nothing. Stretching out there reishi, the two could feel others fights, but only for a moment as Amulet quickly reappeared, thrown to the ground. "Well that worked." She smirked. Lilly started to form again and quickly backed up.

"How did you do that?" She demanded. She was clutching the arm that Amulet had held and looked close to tears. She didn't look injured besides her arm. But there was something in her eye that made Jim pause in concern.

"Same way that I can do this." Amulet said as she summoned her mist again and pushed her team back into it.

Naruto woke up confused and disorientated. The fuck had just happened? Right, a fight and Soul. And now she was in Amulets mist, which was why everything was so confusing and draining. That's right, Amulet could also drain peoples reishi. Every minute that she spent breathing it in, the more she felt like death.

Naruto pushed herself off the ground and looked around. In front of her was Lilly, looking around in a panic. She was terrified, she reminded her of when they first met and she was looking for her brother. At the time, Naruto thought that Vash was impersonating her brother for she sensed no unusual reishi coming from the girl and there was nothing to tell her she wasn't human. She didn't even feel like a very spiritually aware human. Even now, she was weak in terms of spiritual energy. Was that because of Amulet?

But then they had gone and killed her brother right in front of her and then just left her on the train. Why had they done that? Naruto did not know.

The memories of her human life still haunted her on occasion. Before coming to the castle, her memories were fuzzy, she knew what happened but not all the details. But lately she started putting faces to the memories. The one who she killed looked very familiar, but because it happened so late at night she couldn't tell who it was.

Lilly reminded her of the girl she killed. They had the same look in their eyes. It was raw emotion, not directed towards anything or anyone, just raw emotion.

Lilly didn't see her, so Naruto stayed still, hidden in the mist.

"I'm so scared." The young Bount cried to herself quietly. She was so quiet Naruto wouldn't have heard her if it hadn't been perfectly silent. She couldn't hear her teammates, but she could feel them. Alive and hidden in the mist. It was only Amulets mist that surrounded them at that point. Lilly's mist had condensed around her and formed in the shape of a large rabbit. "I know Nebel, but it's too late now. Big brother is gone and I have to follow what the head says. Or else I can't eat."

The bunny rubbed up against her leg before dispersing into mist and spreading across the field again.

"Lilly?" Naruto asked, slowly getting up. Everything hurt, but she couldn't focus on that at the moment. Something wasn't right and she needed to find out what.

"Stay away!" she screamed, backing away. She was clutching her arm and holding it close to her chest.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." She said, trying to approach her. "It's ok."

"No its not!" she backed away "Your trying to kill me!"

"Only because your trying to kill us." She reasoned.

She looked down, ashamed "It's not like I want to." She mumbled. "I just want to be with my big brother." She looked up sharply "But you killed him!" she lunged.

Naruto blocked her and pushed her away. "Lilly, I need to ask you something. Please, listen to me."

"No!" she screamed again, trying to blind Naruto with the mist that was still floating around. Naruto quickly pushed it away with her Zanpaktou before throwing the blade to the ground.

"Yes, please. I need to know. Why are you here? Why are they trying to kill us?"

"I don't know! I don't understand when they talk!"

"Please, then let me see!"

"No!" She went for the kill.

Jim ran at the two who were struggling on the ground. Naruto's sword lied a few feet away from them and she didn't look like she was trying to hurt the little girl. Naruto had a good hold on the girl so Jim took the opportunity to run at them with the his Shikai activated.

About two feet away he used the ability Changing Dance and extended his sword to stab Lilly in the arm, throwing her to the ground.

She screamed and rolled of Naruto who quickly got to her feet and stared at Jim. "Why did you do that?" she yelled.

"She was trying to kill you."

"She was-" she stopped "Where's Soul and Amulet?"

"Soul is still in the mist and Amulet is holding the mist together."

"I- Jim, I need you to heal her!"

"What?"

"Heal her! Now!" she yelled, running over to the Bount. "Hey, Lilly. I need to ask you something."

"I already told you I don't understand!"

"It's ok, I-" Naruto was cut off as Soul burst through the dispersing mist, shortly followed by Amulet with her sword at her side.

"Soul! Stop!" Naruto yelled. But it was too late. They reached the girl at a deadly speed and crashed into her. They didn't use their Zanpaktou, having decided that it was no better than a metal blade. They reached for her throat. Amulet stopped and looked at Naruto to try and figure out what was going on. "Stop him!"

Amulet nodded and ran to pull the Shinigami away from the Bount. "Soul, calm down." Amulet said calmly into their ear as they grabbed their arms and held them behind their back.

"Why?" they cursed.

Amulet didn't really know so she looked up at Naruto. "Because she can help us. I need to look into her mind."

Lilly looked up "You need to what?" she asked. She was trying to push herself away from the small group of Shinigami. "I didn't agree to that."

Naruto turned to the girl "Please, let me look at your memories. I can help you."

She glanced around, trying to figure out if she had any ill intent. Deciding that there was no reason that she should be worried. She silently nodded and allowed Naruto to do what she needed.

 **Note to self, stop trying to write multiple stories at once. It's really not helping your crunch time. Also, would any of you want to read a fanfiction on Mythbusters? There aren't any good ones on this sight so I might just put it up on some other sight, probably AO3, but I don't have an account yet. I just want to get your opinion on that sort of thing. Also, just a reminder, if you didn't read the top, no new chapter next week.**


	31. May we die

**Chapter 31! May we die**

 **No new chapter next week. Don't hate me. We'll be back to normal after this unless something I can't control happens.**

It was time, Atticus was running out of patience. This Bount was getting on his nerves and frankly, it was getting old. He could see how Val might have had trouble with him, but that was more from her lack of training rather than the Bount being too strong. Val had gone into this fight with little to no knowledge of what was going on and she had suffered because of it. Mathias wasn't someone you could fight blind and just hope that everything will be ok.

Mathias's power was annoying at best. It was mostly fake, but it was the kind of fake that could do real damage. It was meant to try your mind into thinking your hurt. This space that they were in, it wasn't real, if you think you got hurt here, you will feel hurt but you won't _really_ be hurt. In order to fight against this Bount, you have to understand what you were going into in order to get out of it alive.

That's what Atticus had gone into this fight knowing. That's what king had told him. But he hadn't told him about one little thing.

Apparently, his Doll had another form. And no one told Atticus. Mathias's ax began to melt around his arm and seep into his skin. It looked like it was trying to create an armor, but it looked more organic then that. However, it looked like it was taking a while to form. The prosses was slow and since his weapon was melting, it left him open to attack.

"Val, I'll need you to distract him." The lieutenant insisted.

Val just looked at him for a moment, letting her arms loss "What?" she asked. "How?"

"Just for a little bit. Do something, anything." He hissed, glancing back at the Bount. The Metal had moved down his arm and to his elbow.

Shrugging, she ran for the Bount, grabbing her sword along the way. Mathias gave a panicked looked before trying to back away and avoid her. His arm had become stiff and was stuck in the upright position. The things were gone, they had disappeared when the ax began to melt.

Atticus disappeared from her sight and when she looked around again, he was no longer in the room. Great, now she was alone. Atticus had told her to distract him, so that is what she was going to do.

She had no reishi left use, she had no water left to fight. But hey, she had a sword. She had a sword and whatever was in her pocket. What did she have in her pocket? Val quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out some small scalpers and some bandages. Eh, it'll do.

She threw the bandages at Mathias and watched them unravel in the air. It got the Bounts attention long enough for her to get behind his back and kick him in the head. He fell to the ground and for a few short moments, he didn't move. Val thought that she did it, she thought she won. She should have known better.

Mathias got right back up and used his solid metal arm to try and beat her over her head.

"Divide in half! Raito Kurai!" Atticus yelled as he jumped through the wall. In his hands were two swords connected by a chain. One white, one black.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"This place isn't real, so it's easy to ignore walls." He smiled.

"Does that mean we can just leave?"

"I wish." He swung his swords around, the white one producing fire, the black one water. "I hope you can use this." He said with a small laugh.

"I'll see what I can do."

 **Line**

Gilbert had just released his Doll and the team was running for their lives. His earing had been the sealed form and now it was something else. It still kept its golden color though, it made it stand out in the mist. When was that going to go away?

Laugh Neo and Det were in a tough situation. They really didn't want to fight the Bount, and it seemed like the Bount didn't really want to fight them. But neither of them really had a choice.

Laugh threw herself to the ground to avoid the blue blast from the Doll. It was a weird thing. It looked like a scythe, but it moved like a flag and its staff was curling around the Bounts arm. "That's creepy." Laugh said when she saw it. It reminded her of a snake and she did not like snakes.

Neo sighed and swung his sword. A bolt of electricity headed straight for the Bount, he didn't have time to dodge but his Doll did attempt to block some of it. The thing screamed and recoiled. Gil tried to bring it back but it was too late. There was quite a lot of energy in the air and everything was getting fuzzy and mixing together. It was giving Neo a headache. "Guys, get in position!" he yelled. He needed to get this over with before his head exploded.

Laugh and Det grabbed onto him and stepped onto the air. Not so much that the Bount would notice, but enough to protect them. The mist worried Det though, mixing water and electricity was tricky. Neo was use to Laughs water, not this mist.

"Let's get this over with." Neo sighed. He lifted up his sword "Descend from the heaven!" he yelled as he stabbed his sword in the ground. All around him, electricity circled out around the ground and went out in all directions. Gil was hit hard but shook it off as if it was nothing. He started walking forward and blasting at the team, forcing them to split. "Det! Now would be a great time to do what you do." Neo called as he was pushed away from his team.

Det nodded and tightened his grip on his sword. Neo and Laugh put in their earplugs and gave him the single. He released his Shikai and covered his ears as well. The metal in his hand began to shift and move into a tuning fork like shape.

The painful sound could be heard through the teams' ear protection, and really didn't help Neos headache. Gil, who had no protection, was not only injured by the sound, but he also suffered its effect. To him, there were five of each Shinigami, and they all were moving in and out of focus. He clutched his head in pain and let his Doll crawl onto the ground. Its scythe like tale wiped around violently, trying to take down one of the illusions.

It slithered closer to the three and almost got Laugh had she not activated her Shikai and moved her and Neo into the mirrors. Leaving Det out on his own. "Do it," she said "Just enough to win."

The five Dets circled around the Bount and his Doll, Gil was trying to stand but the pain in his ears was just too much. But he could tell that the Shinigami's movement was starting to slow down. Det could feel their muscles tighten up and fighting the use. Well, guess it's time to move onto the next stage. "You think this is bad?" they all said in unison. "Just wait," he smiled and held his Zanpaktou out. "Ban-kai!" he called out as his sword disintegrated from his hands "50 Bell of Judgment."

A giant bell fell from the sky and covered the Bount. Two guards fell beside it with giant hammers hanging by their sides. "Don't kill him." Det commanded "But let him suffer." The guards nodded and drew their weapon. Det turned and waved to the mirrors that hid his team "It's safe to come out now. You can't hear it from here."

Neo quickly fell out of the black water and turned to help out Laugh. Just as she was stepping out, the Bell exploded. Neo turned just in time to see the Doll heading straight for his head. Scratch that, it was flying at his head. The thing had wings! He tried to catch it but was knocked back to the ground and the things tail started curling around and tried to hit him. He threw the thing to the side and pointed his sword at it. Shocking it with electricity.

The guardians collected the pieces from the Bankai that were scattered across the field before dissolving back into a cracked sword at Dets feet who was looking at the Bount.

He was sprawled on the ground and covered in blood. It truly was amazing what someone's screams could do when amplified.

"Are you here to hurt our Captain?" Det asked.

Gilbert lifted his head. He may be covered in blood, but he could still hear. Det made sure of that. "No." he said.

"Are you hear to hurt us?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Who are you here to kill?"

"A Bount."

Neo laughed and put away his sword, walking right past the Doll and up to Gilbert. He held out a hand and smiled. "Well, why didn't you just say so? My name is Neo and this is my team, Laugh and Det." Laugh smiled and sealed her sword.

Gil looked at the stretched-out hand and then back up at Neo. Shrugging he took it and was hoisted to his feet. The Doll got off the ground and flew over to its master. It glowed and transformed back into an earring. Neo pulled Gil arms over his head to help stop him from falling over.

As they walked back to the castle, Laugh bent her head sideways and started at the Bount.

"What?" he asked.

"I have a question!" she said.

"Well ask."

"Your Dolls name is bird, why is it a snake?"

"It's not a snake."

"It totally is."

"It had wings!" he insisted.

"Just because it has wings doesn't mean it's a bird!"

"That doesn't mean it a snake."

"Its tail is literally a scythe." She pointed out, holding her arms in front of her as she straightened her back.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Do birds have scythes for tails?"

"Do snakes?"

The two male Shinigami sighed and looked at each other. "Well," Det smiled "No one said it would be a normal day."

"No one said I would have to fight today either but look at us."

 **Apologies for the short chapter this week. Something came up and I wrote this in half a day. About next week. I'm going on a weeklong trip with my acting group and I'm not bringing my computer to that. We're not even staying in the same hotel two nights in a row, so don't hate me.**

 **Also, I just put up a poll on my profile on if you would want to read a Mythbusters fanfiction. It's in my profile. Or it should be, I don't know, technology.**


	32. It's a Dark Night

**Chapter 32! It's a Dark Night**

 **Supper short chapter this week, I'm so sorry. See bottom for why.**

Lilly was scared. Her family had brought her to the Shinigami's hide out and told her to use her mist. They told her it was for her brother, that she had to do it. She tried to put up an act, but she had never learned how to fight. Lilly's mother and father figure had died. She was alone. The only ones who were left were Ludwig and Gilbert. She felt safe around Gil, he had a funny side to him was he thought no one was looking. Ludwig frightened her though. It felt like he could crack at any minute. And it was starting to feel like he did.

The young girl had agreed to let the Shinigami look into her mind. She didn't know why, Ludwig had told her to fight them. Gil had told her to distract them. The Shinigami didn't seem like she meant any harm by this, even to the point where one of them healed her, after they had injured her though. She was wasting their time though, keeping them distracted like Gil had told her.

Naruto seemed happy enough to have her sword away from the girl. Instead the two girls sat facing each other, with Naruto's hands on Lilly's temples. "I need you guys to keep an eye out in case anyone tries to attack us. Neither me nor Lilly will be conscious until I'm done." The rest of the team nodded and took positions around the two. "Please don't freak out." She smiled and dove into the Bounts mind.

It was dark in there, Naruto pushed forward more to try and see if she could pick through the first layer of the girls' mind. It was emotions and thought first, nothing more than raw material. She continued forward. Going deeper and avoiding anything she wasn't allowed to touch or couldn't get to. No use to getting lost on a quest that would have no end.

Slowly, she pushed the darkness away and entered the memories. To her it felt like a filing cabinets, even though she was seeing it all at once. She skimmed thought the childhood memories, along with the early life. She stopped when it got to the parts where it involved a plan that involved the castle. Lilly was peeking out of a door in a room upstairs, trying not to be noticed from the older Bounts in the room below. They were speaking in German and Lilly was attempting to understand.

Naruto could only understand what Lilly understood. It was a weird thing, knowing what they said while not knowing German. Slowly, she started to piece things together. They were after someone, they kept calling them a target. They were using the plural form of they so there were multiple targets. Lilly's door creaked and she quickly hide in her room. There were the sound of footsteps come from the other side of the door followed by a knock. "Lilly?" Came Gilbert's voice. "Lilly, I know your there, may I come in?"

"Yeah." She said quietly. For a moment, Naruto thought he hadn't heard her, that was until door opened and the albino walked in. He was dressed in sweats and a tank top that showed off his muscles.

He closed the door behind him and sat down on couch that was set in the middle of the room. "Listen I-" he stopped himself "Come sit." He insisted, patting on the couch. He waited until Lilly was next to him before continuing. "I know Vash being kill was hard on you. And I know you blame yourself, that why you got your Doll and I respect that. But you need to understand, we're not going to the castle to get revenge."

Lilly was shocked "Why not?" she demanded "They killed him!"

Gil shook his head and sighed "I know. Trust me, I know. But they're Shinigami, Death is kind of their job. The Soul Society knows where we are but they haven't done anything yet." Lilly was about to protect, but the albino quickly stopped her. "They didn't wake up that day planning on killing your brother. All they wanted was the rock we were hired to get by the Vikings."

"Is that why-"

"Yeah, but its not. Ludwig, he's found one of your sister. Kisomaru."

"But she died years ago-" she stopped "You don't mean that she's with them?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, I do. But you must remember that she was human, not a Bount. It was her life and her death, and she has the right to do what she wants."

"She was killed by a Shinigami."

"It was an accident."

"Your defending them!" Lilly was out of her seat now, yelling. "Your defending the _things_ that kill our kind!"

"I'm stating the facts." He sighed again and leaned back into his seat.

"If your so ok with her being our enemy, then why are we going to try and take her back."

"We're not."

"What?"

"We're not there for Kiso. Lud might think that, but you know how's he's been since… you know." He trailed off. Lilly didn't actually know, she just noticed things. Gil hosted himself up and placed his hands on the girls' shoulders. "But don't worry about my brother, soon, soon things will get better." He tried to smile, but it was clearly fake. "These Shinigami, their captain is old, but he is also very young. In his castle is another Bount of a similar name. We are bringing in one of your friends to talk to Mathias but don't get your hopes up."

"Gil, can you just tell me what's going on?"

"I'm sorry sweaty. But when I give you the single, you have to cover your eyes. Please, you don't need to hurt anyone. I just need you to distract them. Your mist is powerful, but it has no voice. A doll with no voice is very dangerous."

"You'll let me come?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"I don't have a choice." He didn't smile, but he didn't frown either. His words were very matter of fact, like something he had come to accept but didn't like.

"Is Ludwig going to be ok?"

Gil didn't answer, instead he hugged Lilly and then left the room. Lilly stayed and went to pull out her art supplies. Naruto, feeling like the importins of the memory was over, pulled out of the girls mind.

She found herself on the ground of the field, her face damp from the grass. Slowly she pushed herself up and faced the Bount. "Thank you." She smiled. "Could you, ah, get rid of the mist now?"

Lilly looked around and apologies. "It might take a while to clear but I can try." She held out her hands and the mist around her solidify into a ribbon like shape. "I, uh, have a question."

Jim leaned forward to look at Lilly while Daphne and Soul took Naruto away. "And what would that be?" he asked.

"Do you know Kisomaru?"

"Yeah, we're not the closest but we're pretty cool. She goes by Raven here though." He smiled. "What about her do you want to know?"

"Is she happy here?"

Jim was taken aback by this but he tried not to let it show. "Yeah, actually. She's pretty happy. She has her group, and she's pretty close to one of our Captains clones." She sat down on the ground "She has her moods but we all do."

Lilly nodded and concentrated on the mist.

"Naruto," Soul whispered, careful not to let Lilly hear "What did you learn?"

The girl sighed, flicking her long hair behind her shoulder. "Well, they're not here to get revenge from Vash. They're not here for Mathias, well, not really. And Raven was raised by them."

The two were quiet, Daphne was the first to respond. "Is Raven our enemy?" Naruto shook her head "Are they here to take her back?" another no "Is Mathias our enemy" Naruto shrugged "Then why are they here?"

Naruto sighed and looked at Soul "I think that Gil has a plan."

"No shit Sherlock." Soul said.

 **Ok, here's why it's so short. I went to London with my acting group. I got so little sleep over the week, I didn't even get a chance to write on the plane. Also, while I was there, my step mom gave birth so now I have a three-year-old and a new born (Plus and older brother who's 20). Don't worry, everything will be back on schedule as soon as is possible. We are getting to the end and I am not giving up now! Don't forget to review.**


	33. He really did it, didn't he

**Chapter 33! He really did it, didn't he**

 **Alternant titles: Epic Music, Are You Sure This Isn't The Apocalypse, and The End**

 **Some dialoged taken from Tekkings 200** **th** **review.**

 **Warning: characters deaths**

* * *

Atticus didn't want to use his full power, it wasn't right, it wasn't stable. Mathias wasn't the type of opposite he normally used it against. He tried using his Shikai for a while. With the chains connected his white sword scorched the walls while his black one gave XV enough water to continue fighting. But once he realized that this wasn't going to be enough, that the Bount kept coming back and attacking, he sent Val away.

"Where can I go?" she asked, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. She sounded annoyed. True she had no real combated skills, but she didn't like being treated like she was just getting in the way.

Mathias jumped at them and Atticus was forced to throw him back with water, which Val quickly froze to keep him in place. "The shadows." He insisted.

"You want to get Raven in here?"

Atticus smirked, and the chain that connected his swords snapped. The walls around them made a crunching sound as the shift in power began to resonate with the world. He slashed at the corner that held the most amount of darkness and created an opening. Just as she was about to jump in, Atticus grabbed her arm and pulled her close. "Get all the remaining Shinigami in the castle into Vampire Tekking layer. And grab Kings beta fish as well." She nodded and jumped in.

"Well that's interesting," Mathias said, breaking free from the ice. "Why didn't you do that from the start?"

Atticus forced light into the area to seal off the portal. "Because then I would have to do this. Bankai!"

* * *

The mist was fading, but Lilly was still alive. Gil didn't know how it happened, but he was glad it did. He had already lost two family member tonight, and a third would soon join them. Gil and the Shinigami around him moved to the flat grass just in front of the castle, where everyone first learned who would become a seated officer and who would remain a no name unseated. Waiting there was Daphne's team along with Mercury's. They all looked worse for wear, but none of them were dead.

As the Dolls effect disappeared, Lilly and a few other Shinigami appeared through the mist. "Lilly!" Gil yelled and ran up to hug her. "I'm so glad you are ok!" he insisted. Jim saw the others state and went over to start healing them. There wasn't much he could do, but he could take the pain away.

Lilly hugged him back, but she kept her face hidden. "Why are we here?" she asked.

"I promise I'll explain this to you as soon as we get home." He reassured her. He let go and turned around.

Suddenly there was a huge explosion. The shock way ripped through the grounds and tore away all of the remaining mist, and the reishi of such left the weaker or more injured Shinigami crumpling to the ground. Rocks began falling from the sky and those who were still able to create shields, did. They weren't the size of a meteor, so the shield held, if only just barely. Dust and smoke rushed in to take the place of the mist, but only for a moment.

When the smoke cleared, everyone looked around to make sure no one had been hurt during the blast. Daphne looked up to the castle "Our home." She said quietly.

Everyone looked up at that. It was true, the castle was in pieces. Ripped apart by peer energy. The bottom few floors seamed mostly intact, but the bedrooms and the throne room were gone. One of the towers was hollowed out, looking like it would topple over at the slightest breath. No one spoke, no one knew what to say.

"My brother?" Gil yelled, looking around "Where's Ludwig?"

"Still fighting." Atticus said, throwing a bloody Mathias to the ground. "But not for long, I've sent Val to bring them over."

Gil gave a small bow "Thank you." He said softly. "I mean no harm to your family." Atticus nodded but didn't sheath his blade. His Zanpaktou was still in Shikai and he was using the chain to hand it around his neck like a scarf. His left shoulder was covered in the blood from the Bount.

Soul stepped forward "What about everyone else?" they asked "And where were you?"

Atticus whipped some blood off of his arms "I was fighting Mathias in the castle." He said "And Val managed to evacuate everyone into the Vampires layer."

There was a scream and both Raven and Ludwig were thrown onto the ground. The group looked up and saw Val standing there, bloodied and bruised. "They have a history." She breathed out. Soon the rest of Raven's team arrived. "Is that everyone?" she asked, taking a sip of water before moving to help Jim with healing everyone.

"Everyone except the Captain." Atticus replied, choosing to ignore Ludwig and instead stepping up to Mathias. "Now, what are you here for? What is your reason?"

Mathias began to laugh, he tried to push himself up from the ground but his arms kept giving out under him. Eventually he managed to pull his knees up under him and rest on his arms, laughing and dripping blood. "Is there any reason for anything?" he continued to laugh, trying to stand but kept wobbling on his feet. He swayed but managed to get his footing on the soft ground.

Atticus shrugged "A Shinigami's reason for existence is to save the souls of the dead and destroy beings like you." Ludwig began to move, but no one saw him. "It was a mistake letting you into the castle. I should have killed you the first time we met."

Mathias lurch and tried to attack Atticus, only to be stopped by a load crack. Mathias fell to the ground, with a large burn mark covering his back.

Lilly gasped and tried to hide behind Gil, but he pushed her away and handed her off to Daphne. "Cover your eyes." He whispered and waited for Lilly to close her eyes before advancing for his brother.

The Shinigami felt something was off and readied their swords but he didn't attack any of them, instead he went towards his brother. "Lug, you're ok." He in a sincere voice, opening up him arms for his brother. Ludwig stumbled towards his brother and fell into his arms.

There was a sharp intake of breath, before the blond Bount slumped to the ground, dead.

Raven began to stir, and opened her eyes. She stood up and saw the man who had raised her dead on the ground. "What did you do?" she whispered, summoning her Shikai and moving to attack Gilbert.

There was a flash of lighting and smoke filled the air once again. Raven stumbled back and fell to the ground. Standing above her was her Captain, no longer in a captain's clock, but instead wearing a white button up shirt with a black sleeve. The sleeve was like flames in the way it clung to his shoulder and back, even effecting the color of the 101 stitched onto his back.

Around the side of his left eye was a semi-circle with five lines jutting out of it at various angles and a few taking a sharp turn towards his ear. And in his hand was his Zanpaktou, released into Shikai.

Standing behind the captain was a man, about the same height, in a black cap and red shirt. Sitting prettily on his face was a white mask. The Shinigami were unsure if this was a hollow or not.

Captain Crawford swung his sword onto his shoulder and raised his left hand. "Hey guys, what's up?" he said cheerfully.

Mercury smiled, "Oh, you know me, just hanging and banging man." He sounded half drunk, probably an effect of his injuries followed by intense medical care.

"WHAT!" Atticus yelled.

"Now look, look guys, I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me." The king tried to reason

"Well yeah, I would say so!"

"Yeah, I got one," Mercury swayed "where do you keep the whisky in here?"

"Vampires top cupboard."

"Thanks man, you are awesome." He smiled and tried to walk away, only to fall face first into the mud and not move. Val just shrugged and moved on with her work.

Mathew went on smiling "Anything else?" he bobbed.

"Oh no, no, that pretty much just sums up everything- WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK!" Atticus swords swished in the air and he made the smart decision to seal them before something got cut off.

"Alright, I get it, I get it. Listen, I can't explain everything to you right this moment but I'll give you the abridged version." He paused "Who's this guy?" he asked, pointing to Gil.

Naruto shrugged "A Bount."

Lilly stepped out and waved "Hi." She didn't look down. She saw the bodies but she hadn't seen who killed Ludwig, but she decided to ask about it later.

"Two Bounts." She added. Just then Law Tekking appears next to the Captain, throwing Hutt to the ground. He was unconscious, but other than some frost bite and a few not life threating cuts, was perfectly fine. "Three Bounts."

"And the dead ones?" Law asked.

"Dead Bounts."

"Ah," Captain Crawford smiled "that makes perfect scene."

Law shook his head "No, it really doesn't." he said quietly. What did these kids do when they weren't around was a mystery to him.

"Anyways, so I was out chasing my shadow for a couple days, got kind of bored doing that, and I was out in the middle of nowhere, and then I ran into my dark self. And, you know how well me and him get along." All the Shinigami looked up that this, obviously conserved. "That didn't go to well. So we ended up getting into this huge epic fight out in the middle of nowhere. There was explosions, and shit, and arms where getting lopped off." Well that would explain the new arm "And I was about dead, and then this spirt of this girl showed up." Lies, King had no girl "And I was supported to get up and fight. And I eventually I won, got this cool new outfit, reclaimed my Zanpaktou, and uh, here I am!" he smiled.

"Anything else?" Atticus asked, there was always something else.

"Oh yeah, over Christmas the barrier in the back of the dollar tree I work at got opened and I had to go down there and kill off all the demons. So that was fun!" he paused "Oh, also I assembled the Dragon Balls!"

"Of course you did." He sighed. At lease he hadn't mentioned that he had made a wish, cause Soul King knows what he would ask for.

The masked man looked around " **Oh yeah, and your leaving out the part where I came back to.** "

"Yeah, and uh, he's back to." He said nonchalantly.

Law looked confused, "Who's he?" he asked. "Why are you wearing that, I, uh, What!" he yelled. He seemed to just relies what was going on. "I can't believe you did that! After everything your fans have done for you!"

"What did I do?"

"It's called the off-screen moment of awesomeness, also known as the Kubo effect, also the Fuck You to the readers!"

"Atticus did it to!" he pointed out.

Mathew scoffed "He doesn't count."

Atticus stepped forward "I'm pretty sure I do."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved him off. "What are you three still doing here?" He asked the Bounts "Get out."

"Thanks." Gil nodded and took Lilly's hand and threw Hutt over his shoulder. The three walked off and disappeared over the hill. Gils Doll took care of the bodies, swallowing them whole before following the three living.

"Alrighty now," Mathew clapped his hands together "Now let get back to-" he turned around "MY CASTLE!"

"Atticus did it!" the Shinigami all said in unison, pointing their fingers at the lieutenant.

"I, it, it was an accident, I was fighting a Bount!" he insisted. Soul smirked, Atticus acted differently around the Captain then he did around the squad.

Mathew sighed "You know what. I don't care. Is my fish ok?"

"Yes. I had Val move him to the location with the rest of the Shinigami."

"Good. And where's my horse and chair?"

"Safe and undamaged." Val and Soul both gave the vice-captain a look. And what point did Atticus have the time to save those things. The horse could run away, but the chair was still in the throne room when the battles began.

"Alright, get all the Shinigami out here. I want to make an announcement."

The group nodded and scattered. Those who were well enough to move went to gather the unseated underlings, and those still injured were moved to the medic ward, which was still perfectly intact. Atticus stayed behind with the captain to give his report.

Atticus's sister was one of the first ones out of the hiding place and she was shocked at what she saw. Her home was gone. While everyone else filed out, she and Naruto's brother stayed behind and walked through the garden. It was mostly intact, besides the massive bridge laying in the middle of it. "This is awful." She muttered. "All these poor plants, crushed."

The boy nodded but kept quiet. The two continued to walk. Eventually they came crawled through the crushed stone and into what was the throne room. Sitting there, perfectly intact, was a beautiful white chair, one with a huge amount of Reishi leaking off of it, more so then either of the two siblings standing there combined. "It's beautiful." She whispered. There was the sound of a horse's snort, behind the chair was the perfect black horse that legends were told about.

"We should get back to the group." Naruto's brother insisted. She nodded and cautiously backed away and the two left the garden.

It didn't take long for them to reach the field where everyone had gathered. Mathew was standing atop a hill, speaking to everyone.

"Everyone!" The captain said. All of his clones were behind him, some looking at the audience, some were not. "As you can see, _someone_ broke the castle. Because of that, squad 101 will be disbanded until further notice. You will all be sent back to the Soul Society and be placed into different squads of your choice. Or, if you like, you can choose to join with the kido corp, or the Stealth Squad." There were some murmurs about that, but not enough to prevent the King from being heard. "If you can find your stuff among the rubble, please take it. But if your caught stealing, remember," he gave a small chuckle "we all have swords."

And with that, the group disbanded. The knights of Squad 101 were no more.

* * *

It didn't take long for Atticus to join his King on top the hill. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked "The stories almost over, and you're back up is soon to follow." He chuckled slightly.

"I don't know, I've built my castle upon this hill. What am I going to so when it's gone?"

"Well, you have three options" the ex-lieutenant said. "You could go back to your old life and forget about all this. You could leave and start a new journey. Or you could teach what you know to someone else."

Mathew didn't take long to think "I chose all of the above!" he said proudly.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Not that long ago I was asked to teach at a school for a few weeks to teach the kids about kido and what not. It's a human school, but their special." He gave a small smile, it was an inside joke so Atticus didn't understand. "But after that I have no plans. I was thinking of becoming a pirate, but first I want to finish collage. I did not waste all my money to drop out at the last moment."

Atticus gave a small bow. "I would be honored if you would allow me to join your pirate crew." He said.

"No."

"No?" he asked, straighten up.

"You will not be on my crew. You have done your part. You are free to go. We can be allies, but you have proved yourself worthy enough to be your own captain now." King smiled "Though I need to ask, why didn't you include starting up the squad again in your list?"

"That was never really an option, was it."

"No, for all intensive purposes, we don't exist, this squad was never real, and none of this ever happened."

"Isn't that the way it always is?" Atticus smiled. He turned to walk away but stopped in his tracks. He reached into his uniform and brought out a white bundle of fabric. "Before I forget." He said, handing it to the king before walking away.

Mathew looked down and unfolded the cloth. It was his Haidari. He quickly threw it one and grabbed his Zanpaktou. With one last look at his destroyed castle, he left for another story.

 **THE END**

 **Yeah! I did it! I finished this dammed story! Didn't turn out like you think, well, what did you expect? It's a story about Tekking101, it's not supposed to be taken seriously.**

 **Like I mentioned a few times, I want to be doing a rewrite of this but I don't know if I should put it up on this story or create a new story and uploaded it there. If you have any suggestions on what you want me to change, please review or shot me a DM.**


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